Death Eaters' Folly
by Nessa Meneldur
Summary: Nessa's life hasn't been simple for a long time. Her sister's vanishing is a mystery that stays in the back of her mind always. However, with the help of her old friend, and the new boy at school, can she discover the truth of what happened that night?
1. Lessien Who?

Author's Note: Erm...yeah, basically a first time Fan Fiction writer here, so you may have to bear with me at times... .:grins:.

Disclaimer: Let's see – anything related to Harry Potter, Hogwarts, etc etc, is owned by that lovely lady in England, J. K. Rowling. Thomas owns himself, most times, and Roman owns herself and me.

Rating: Currently sitting solidly at PG-13, but it may go up as the story progresses. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

- - -

Nessa woke up drowsily, confused by the sounds around her. 

"No!!!! What are you doing? That's my baby...!!"  
"Let go, woman! She doesn't belong to you anymore!"

She sat up slowly, uncertain what was going on. She let out a quiet yelp as she heard a thud, and her mother's voice crying out in pain.  
Nessa curled up in her bed, trying not to hear her mother's anguished screams. Suddenly not being able to stand it, she raced to the other side of the room and crawled into Arness' bed, noticing Merenwen was already there.  
Arness held her two younger sisters close, comforting them as much as possible. Noticing a strange glow, Arness quickly covered the other girls' ears, and shut her eyes.  
The glow built up, almost filling the room - all three girls shrunk away from the light - there was something evil about it...

Nessa suddenly sat up. "Where's Lessien?" she muttered, suddenly afraid for her baby sister.  
"Nessa! Don't!" Arness called, making a desperate grab for her sister, but Nessa was too quick. In a flash, she'd slipped out of the bed and over to the other door in the darkness, yanking it open and slipping through. She padded softly over to the cot.  
"Lessien?" she murmured, frowning slightly. Ordinarily, her sister would be awake by now...  
Nessa peered over the edge of the cot, and felt her chest tighten - where was Lessien?!

Nessa ran back into the other room, and was surprised to find that the house was silent again - Arness and Merenwen were sleeping soundly in their separate beds, small smiles playing over their lips, and there were no more screams.  
"Nessa, hunny? What are you doing up?" her mother asked softly, stepping into the room.  
"I was checking on Lessien..."  
"Who's Lessien? Is she your imaginary friend?" Nessa's mother smiled down at her softly - she could be so cute sometimes.  
"Mummy! She's my sister!" Nessa cried, frustrated...what was going on!?  
"Hunny, you only have two sisters...now go to bed, it's past midnight," her mother told her, kissing her lightly on the forehead and tucking her back into bed, leaving a very confused Nessa staring at the ceiling.

- - -

"Mummy?"  
"Yes, Nessa love?"  
"What happened last night?"  
  
It was breakfast the next morning, and Nessa was still very confused about the events from the night before - after all, she was only four-and-a-half!  
"Last night, love?" her mother repeated, looking a little confused. "Why - nothing happened, why do you ask?"  
Arness looked at Nessa curiously, and Merenwen, catching the look, turned to face Nessa as well.  
"But...what happened to Lessien?" Nessa cried.  
Both Arness and Mere frowned at the same time, and their mother put down the plate gently.  
"Nessa, hunny - I don't know who this Lessien person is..."  
Nessa rolled her eyes. "My baby sister, mummy!"  
Mrs. Meneldur closed her eyes for a moment. "Nessa, I told you last night - you only have two sisters, and Merenwen is your baby sister..."  
Nessa shook her head violently. "Nah-uh, mummy - Lessien is!" she insisted with all the single-mindedness of a four-year-old.  
"Look, Nessa," her mother began impatiently. "I don't know what you're talking about, but you have never had another sister, nor are you likely to, so could we please just drop it?"  
Nessa's eyes filled with tears, and she nodded silently, looking back down at her plate and playing with her food.  
Her mother sighed, and walked around to her daughter, kneeling next to her. "Nessa love, I'm sorry," she murmured softly, wrapping her arms around the girl, "but I honestly don't know what you're talking about..."  
Nessa sniffled pathetically. "Mummy, something funny happened last night...you were crying, yelling something, and there was a weird light..."  
Her mother stood up abruptly and began to clear the table. "Nothing happened last night, Nessa, I wish you'd give up on that!"  
"But Lessien --"  
"There is no Lessien!" Her mother rounded on her furiously, and Nessa shrank into her chair. "There never has been and there never will be, do you understand?! Now, go to your room and think about what you're saying. When you've sorted it out, you can come back down!"

Nessa flew out of the room and up the stairs, sobbing. She flung herself onto her little bed and continued to cry, curling up into a little ball. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep...

- - -

"Nessa?"  
She slowly opened her eyes and ever-so elegantly wiped her nose on her pillow. "Who's there?"  
Arness slipped into the room, and walked over to the bed, carrying her shoes in one hand.  
"Mother said not to see you, but I got worried..." Arness explained softly, perching on the bed of Nessa's bed and quietly lowering her shoes to the floor.  
"I'm alright," Nessa replied, still sniffing. She looked at her eldest sister for a moment, before flying into her arms and starting to cry again.  
"I'm so confused, Arness," she said after a moment, when she'd calmed down slightly. "Something happened last night, I'm sure of it!"

Arness, possessing all the wisdom of an eight-year-old, merely shrugged. "I dunno, Nessie," she replied softly, still hugging her younger sister. "I don't remember anything from last night, except going to bed..."  
Nessa sat up indignantly. "How could you have forgotten Lessien?" she asked accusingly. "Our own little baby sister!"  
Arness shrugged again. "I dunno, Ness, I don't remember anyone by the name Lessien, let alone another sister - are you sure you didn't dream it?" she asked gently.  
Nessa frowned - could she have dreamt it all? She struggled with the possibility - Lessien seemed so real, though! She continued to struggle valiantly for a while longer, and then shrugged, looking sad.  
"I'm all confusel-ed, Arness," Nessa said softly, tears forming in her large brown eyes. "I don't know what to do..."

Arness held her sister close and pressed a gentle kiss into her hair. "I know, Ness, I know," she said soothingly. "Why don't you stay here and sleep, and I'll go back downstairs and talk to Mother, hey?"  
Nessa nodded and slipped back under the covers, watching Arness pick up her shoes and head for the door. Once there, she hesitated, almost saying something, before shaking her head.  
"Sleep well, kitten," she said quietly to Nessa, smiling gently and leaving the room.

"Bye, Arness," Nessa murmured in response, dozily, already beginning to fall asleep again.

- - -


	2. Introducing Roman

Author's Note/Warning: .:Enter Roman, stage 'one-step-to-the-left':. And now the story starts to get weird

Disclaimer: .:Le' sigh:. Deadly serious, I don't own Harry Potter in anyway, although I wish I did. Thomas is currently in posession of himself, and Roman still owns herself and me.

Rating: 'Tis still PG-13 .:Grins:.

- - -

"Mummy, where are we going?" Nessa asked, happily skipping along at her mother's side.  
Elena smiled – it was good to see that Nessa had forgotten all about her silly notion of another sister: that had been really strange!  
"Well, hun, I'm taking you to a special sort of school, if you want to call it that. It's where you're going to begin your magical education," she explained to her daughter.  
"Oh good!" Nessa exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Will I get to see Arness there?"  
Elena laughed. "Maybe, if you lucky," she replied, "although I doubt it – your sister is further along than you are..."  
Nessa smiled cheerily, and watched the building they were nearly ready to enter – she couldn't see anything special about it, but if her mother was taking her there, then it had to be something good!

Gently grabbing Nessa's hand, Elena muttered a few words under her breath and stepped through the doors. Nessa's eyes widened in surprise – they were standing in the middle of wide field, wild flowers swaying gently in the soft breeze. Not too far away was a group of children, all laughing and racing around.  
Nessa followed her mother's lead, and began to head over to them, constantly looking around, her big eyes taking in as much as possible. As they neared the group, Nessa heard a voice call out, frustrated.

"Roman! Not again! How many times do I have to tell you not to hit Jeremy with your broomstick!?"

Nessa peered curiously around her mother and spotted a red-haired girl with a top hot perched carefully on her head standing in front of an incredibly frazzled looking woman.

"But I didn't do anything!" the girl was explaining earnestly, blinking innocently up at the woman. "It's not my fault he got in the way of my broom!"  
The woman merely shook her head. "You don't fool me, Roman de la Croix!" she pronounced, and pointed at a spot a couple of metres away.  
"I want you to sit over there, and don't move so much as an inch off that spot!"  
The girl grinned cheekily and turned on her heel, flouncing over to the indicated spot and plopping unceremoniously onto the ground.

Nessa giggled, and quickly pressed her hands over her mouth, glancing up at her mouth to see if she'd noticed. Fortunately, they had just reached the frazzled woman, who was turning to greet them.

"Elena, my dear! It's been so long since I last saw you!" the woman called, embracing Elena.  
Nessa's mother laughed.  
"I know, Delia," she replied, pecking the other woman's cheek. "Now, I've brought you a new student, my little girl Nessa," she continued, reaching behind her and gently pulling Nessa to the front.

The woman knelt down in front of Nessa, smiling gently.  
"It's nice to meet you at last, dear," she said kindly. "I'm your Aunt Delia."  
Nessa looked at the woman in awe.  
"You mean I have an auntie?"  
Aunt Delia laughed.  
"Of course you do, dear – I'm your mother's sister," she replied, gently folding Nessa into a hug.  
The girl relaxed slowly, and impulsively kissed her Aunt on the cheek.  
"It's nice to meet you, auntie," Nessa said shyly.  
"You too, dear – now, why don't you run along and play for a bit, while I talk to your mother?"  
Nessa nodded agreeably and began to scramble away.

"Isn't she a little darling?!" she heard her aunt say, but ignored it, eyes firmly fixed on the girl with the top hat who appeared to be waving a stick around.

"Hello," Nessa said shyly. "What are you doing?"  
The girl looked up and grinned. "I stole your auntie's wand," she replied, obviously having followed the conversation. "I thought it'd be fun, but it won't do anything! I think it's broken..." She pouted slightly, and placed the wand onto the ground.  
"Are you allowed to play with wands?!" Nessa asked, eyes wide – her mummy always said that she'd get her own one day, when she was old enough, but that she wasn't yet and must leave the wands alone.  
The other girl laughed. "Of course I'm not," she replied, squinting up at Nessa. "But that's never stopped me before..." She grinned and patted the ground next to her.  
She watched Nessa settled down before sticking out her hand. "I'm Roman," she introduced herself.

Nessa giggled. "I know – I heard Auntie telling you off before! I'm Nessa," she replied, holding out her own hand.  
Roman grabbed hold of the offered hand, and began to examine it carefully. Nessa started giggling, slightly nervously.  
"What are you doing?" she asked softly, watching Roman hold her hand an inch away from the other girl's nose.  
Roman grinned and dropped Nessa's hand, now studying her face intently. "You know what, Nessie?" she said after a moment. "You've got a really cute nose...why are you wearing a skirt?" she asked suddenly.  
Nessa blinked at her, confused. "Is there a reason I shouldn't be?" she asked nervously, smoothing her skirt with her hands.  
Roman tilted her head and studied Nessa again. Suddenly, she burst out giggling. "Of course, I forgot you were new!" she managed in between giggles. "Most people learn pretty quickly not to wear skirts around me..." Roman looked positively devilish.  
Nessa stood up and started to edge away slightly, looking a little worried. "Why? What do you do?" she asked, curious in spite of herself.

Roman hesitated for a moment and then shrugged. "Just remember, you asked for it," she warned Nessa, grinning and getting to her feet._  
_Stepping over to Nessa, she grasped the waist band of the skirt and hoisted it upwards, until it was barely long enough to cover anything. Whipping off her top hat, Roman produced a needle-and-thread, and quickly put a few stitches into the skirt, holding it in place. Taking a step back, she began to admire her handy work._  
_"Not bad," she mused, eyeing Nessa and grinning. "Not bad at all!"

Nessa took a quick step backwards and nervously toyed with her skirt, seeing if she could pull it a little lower.  
"Umm...I can understand why skirts are a no-no around you, Roman," she said softly, looking up at the other girl a little shyly.  
Roman grinned cheekily. "What's the matter, Nessa?" she teased lightly, seeming for all the world at least twice, if not three times her age. "You've got lovely legs!"  
Nessa laughed gently. "You're a nutter, Roman," she replied quietly, blinking up at the girl.

Roman frowned lightly, and watched Nessa carefully.  
"I don't scare you?" she asked, sounding confused. "You're not going to go running away, yelling for mummy?"  
"Why would I do that?" Nessa asked in reply, looking a little confused herself.  
Roman continued to watch Nessa, and a wide grin slowly began to form.  
"Ness, my dear, you and I are going to get along famously!" she pronounced, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

Nessa gave up on her skirt and flopped unceremoniously back onto the ground, smiling up at Roman.  
"So, what do we do in this place anyway?" she asked.  
Roman smirked and sat back down.  
"We're here," she began pompously, "to learn the basics that any good little witch or wizard should learn."  
"I could learn that at home," Nessa replied, wrinkling her nose and pulling a silly face.  
Roman reached over and poked Nessa in the ribs.  
"Don't do that – you're spoiling your looks!" she told her with a grin.  
Nessa scrunched up her face some more, and was about to reply when she heard a screech from somewhere behind her, and hands began pulling her up.

"Roman, you horror!" her Aunt Delia was crying. "Can't I leave you alone for two seconds without you terrorising someone!?"  
She reached into her robe for her wand, and froze when she couldn't find it.  
"My wand! Where's my wand gone?!" she shrieked, letting go of Nessa and searching her robes frantically.  
Nessa opened her mouth to tell her aunt, when she caught sight of Roman shaking her head. Quickly, she shut her mouth again before Aunt Delia could notice.

Suddenly, her aunt stopped her search and looked accusingly at Roman.  
"It was you, wasn't it," she stated, eyes narrowing ominously.  
Nessa piped up quickly.  
"Honestly, Aunty, it just slipped out of your robes and landed over there," she told her, widening her eyes slightly and pointing at the wand. "I was going to tell you, but you were so busy talking to Mummy..." Nessa trailed off and pretended to look at the ground, actually peeping up at her aunt through her eyelashes.

"Oh! Oh well, in that case," her aunt blustered, grabbing her wand from the ground and patting Nessa reassuringly on the head.  
"Don't fret, child – you didn't do anything wrong. Unlike others I could mention!"  
Delia cast a dark look at Roman, who grinned impudently back at her, and turned back to Nessa, using her wand to cut through the stitches Roman had put in – or, at least, that was the idea.

"Damn it all!" Nessa's aunt exploded after trying for ten minutes to cut the threads. "I don't know what you've done to them, Roman de la Croix, but by Merlin if you do this again..."  
Aunt Delia left the threat hanging, and stalked off, yelling at young witches and wizards left and right.

Nessa held onto her meek pose for a few more moments, just to make certain that her aunt was gone, and then she lifted her head and grinned at Roman.  
"How was that?"

Roman blinked.  
"Well! You certainly had me fooled!" she exclaimed, looking delighted. "Where have you been all those other times when I needed a hand?" she asked, grinning slightly.  
Nessa giggled.  
"So, now what do we do?" she asked Roman, starting to feel a little bored.  
Roman glanced at Nessa, examining her again, and grinned mischievously.  
"Now we go find Jeremy, and see what he's up to," Roman said, leaping to her feet and grabbing hold of Nessa's hand.

"Oh, Jeremy!" Roman called in a sing-song voice. "Where are you?"  
She winked at Nessa as they both heard a groan from somewhere to their right.  
"Not again, Roman," a boy's voice whined. "You don't want Miss Delia finding out!"  
Roman chuckled softly, sneaking around to where she thought the boy was hiding.  
"Ah, but Jeremy, I have had some luck," she replied, grinning almost maniacally. "I've made a new friend, and she just happens to be Miss Delia's niece..."  
She pressed her finger against her lips, indicating to Nessa to be silent for a moment.  
"Aw, that's not fair!" Jeremy whined, from almost directly in front of them.  
Nessa grinned, and carefully slipped her hand out from Roman's, sidling off to the other side of the tree. Roman nodded approvingly, and then said, "Of course it isn't!"  
With that, she pounced around the trunk and began chasing Jeremy, laughing madly.  
Nessa giggled and chased after them – and so the first day at school was spent, Nessa with a mightily shortened skirt, Roman happy and Jeremy...well, he wasn't the happiest little boy that day.

- - -


	3. How to annoy Roman in one easy step

Author's note: I am never, _ever_, letting Roman and Thomas in the same chat window - that'd be scary!

Disclaimer: Um, yeah, I don't own Harry Potter, Draco (since I mention him by name and all) or Hogwarts - says it all, really. Thomas is his, and just for a change, Roman is mine .:snickers:.

Rating: Still PG-13, I think...

- - -

"Roman!" Nessa shrieked as she spotted the red-head a short distance away. She left her luggage trolley with her parents, and raced over to meet the girl.  
She flung her arms around her neck and hugged her tightly.

"I wasn't sure you'd make it back in time for the start of the term!" she said finally, pulling back slightly.  
Roman grinned down Nessa – even now, she was still taller than the other girl.

"What? And miss seeing my beautiful one after being away for two months? I think not!" she told Nessa, pulling her in for another hug.  
Nessa smiled softly, and turned her face towards Roman's neck. "I missed you so much!" she murmured. Both sixteen, the two girls were still very much attached to each other.

"How very touching," a voice drawled scornfully from somewhere behind them.

Nessa jumped violently and nearly hit Roman in the jaw. Apologising with a touch, she began looking around, trying to spot who'd spoken..  
Roman tapped her lightly on the shoulder and jerked her head over her right shoulder.  
Peering carefully over the taller girl, Nessa spotted a boy standing not too far away, smirking like a Slytherin. Her eyes widened as she began to see similarities between the stranger and Draco Malfoy...they had to be related!  
Grasping Roman's shoulder gently, she turned the other girl around so that they were both facing the boy, Nessa standing on tiptoes to see over Roman's shoulder, resting her chin lightly on the girl's shoulder.

Roman's eyes narrowed as she studied the boy, and she began to smirk.  
"Excellent! Another Malfoy to torture and traumatise!" she exclaimed after a bit.

The stranger arched an elegant eyebrow.  
"You must be Roman," he said lazily, unsubtly eyeing her. Wandering over, he stopped a few steps away and introduced himself.  
"Thomas Malfoy, Draco's cousin."

Roman's eyes had widened at being recognised.  
"How the hell do you know my name?" she demanded.

Thomas smirked, and rolled his eyes.  
"I'd have thought that was obvious," he replied, as though talking to a three-year-old. "He and I have been plotting and planning against you all summer break – he doesn't appreciate the attention, you know..."

Roman laughed.  
"And here I was, thinking that I didn't pay enough attention to him!" she said, grinning at Thomas.  
"I'm sure that deep down, he actually does," she added softly to Nessa, winking at the girl.  
Nessa chuckled, and stepped around from behind Roman – damn, but her neck was hurting!  
"It appears you already know of Roman," she said to Thomas, smiling faintly. "I'm Nessa Meneldur."

Thomas crossed his arms and lent back against a conveniently placed wall, just examining Nessa.  
She began to shift uneasily, feeling uncomfortable.  
Slowly, Thomas smirked and walked towards her.  
"Well, well, well," he said, now smiling broadly. "It appears that there was a good reason for transferring me here from Beauxbatons."  
Nessa smiled hesitantly, and attempted to edge behind Roman, who was looking strangely possessive and threatening.  
Thomas moved quickly, his hand darting out to grasp Nessa wrist lightly.  
"I don't know where you think you're going," he said to her softly. "Just as we were beginning to talk nicely too!"  
He flicked some of his blonde hair out of his eyes and gently pulled at Nessa's arm. Hesitantly, she stepped towards him, and cast a quick look over her shoulder to Roman.  
Thomas reached out with the other hand and turned Nessa's head back towards him, keeping a firm but gentle hold on her chin.

"Ah yes," he murmured, moving his hand so that it caressed her cheek lightly. "Most definitely a change for the better..."

Nessa gave a small nervous laugh, and twisted her arm, trying to get free. Thomas smirked and pulled her close, brushing a feather light kiss along her jaw before letting go and stepping back, looking as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened – Nessa was willing to bet that for him, it wasn't!

Nessa smiled at Thomas, looking a little less uncertain, and stepped back to stand beside Roman, who instantly put her arm around Ness.  
Nessa tilted her head and looked at Thomas thoughtfully.  
"You're not particularly like your cousin," she said softly. "Except for your appearance, of course – there, you two could almost be brothers...but you're much better looking."  
Nessa's eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth.  
"I can't believe I just said that," she murmured, looking vaguely horrified, an expression echoed by Roman who was looking down at Nessa like she'd grown horns and a tail.

Thomas, on the other hand, merely laughed, his blonde hair falling into his eyes.  
"Ah Ness," he said after a moment, "that was perfect! Thank you for that!"

Nessa smiled, stepping forward and unthinkingly brushing his hair out of his face. Thomas' hand snaked upwards and grasped her wrist again just as Nessa froze.  
"What are you doing, love?" he breathed, pulling Nessa close.  
"I, uh, er..." Nessa stumbled over her words, blushing slightly.  
Thomas smirked, and wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her against him - Nessa automatically braced herself against his chest.  
"I believe, love," he said to her softly, looking into her eyes, "that you were about to give me a kiss."  
Nessa raised her eyebrows.  
"Was I, now?" she asked, not sure whether to be amused or disgusted.  
Thomas smirked again, and let go of Nessa's wrist, wrapping his other arm around her waist and pulling her closer, making Nessa arch backwards slightly.  
"Yes, yes you were," he breathed.

Nessa giggled nervously, and somehow sensed that Thomas didn't intend to let go of her unless she did kiss him. Cautiously, she leant forwards and brushed her lips against his cheek, not really a kiss, but she hoped it'd satisfy him.  
Thomas raised his eyes and met Roman's gaze, smirking slightly. He turned his head slightly and murmured in Nessa's ear.  
"There now, not so difficult, was it? Although next time, I'm expecting more than that."  
Grinning wickedly, he pressed a kiss against Nessa's cheek, before letting her go and sauntering off, waving jauntily at her over his shoulder.  
Nessa watched him walk away, feeling slightly chilled after being held for that length of time. She didn't release that she'd been staring after him until Roman exploded from somewhere over her shoulder, making her jump.

"Nessa! Why the bloody hell didn't you knee him?!" Roman was demanding, looking bemused, angry, and more than a little hurt.

Nessa blinked.  
"Because the thought never occurred to me?" she ventured, wincing slightly, and apparently with good reason.  
"How dare he make you do that?" Roman was muttering violently. "If I didn't...If I wasn't...Why, I ought to...There's going to be trouble in the Dorms tonight."  
Nessa took a small step away from Roman, watching her rage on – that was not good! In stepping back, however, Nessa discovered someone was already standing there.

"Oi! Watch where you're sticking those feet of yours!" a familiar voice said from behind.  
Nessa leapt forward again, and turned around, to find herself face-to-face with Merenwen, who was grinning at her.  
"Geez, Mere," Nessa breathed, "you scared me out of my wits then!"  
"Not surprising, sister mine, with how out of it you seem," Merenwen replied, still grinning. "It's just as well I was still with Mum and Dad when you went racing off to see old steam-box there," she continued, nodding at Roman who pacing up and down frantically, muttering to herself.  
"Someone, namely myself, had the good wits to keep them from noticing Blondie-Boy with his paws all over you – what was with that, by the way?"  
Nessa flushed and suddenly found the platform floor very interesting.  
"Nothing, Mere – forget it," she muttered, slowly turning red.  
Merenwen raised her eyebrows and tilted her head, highly amused that Nessa was actually blushing.  
"Alright then," she said after a moment, deciding to leave well enough alone. "In the meantime, you might like to calm Roman down – the train's here."  
Nessa glanced along the length of the platform, and noticed that the Hogwarts Express was, indeed, pulling into the station.  
"Thanks, Mere," she said, giving her sister a hug and a kiss, and racing over to her parents to say goodbye for the semester.

Watching her father give her luggage to one of the guards, Nessa approached Roman cautiously.  
"Ah, Roman love," she began, "perhaps we should find ourselves a cabin?"  
Roman paused long enough to examine Nessa carefully, before nodding shortly and heading for the train.  
"Bye Mum, bye Dad – I'll write to you!" Nessa promised hurriedly, before catching up to Roman in one of the cabins.

"Roman?" she said hesitantly, sitting down opposite the other girl.  
Roman flicked a half-glance in Nessa's general direction, before turning and staring determinedly out the train window.  
Nessa sighed – it was going to be a long train trip!

- - -


	4. A spell gone wrong

Disclaimer: Yes, yes, alright, I disclaim ownership - happy? Thomas is his, and I'm currently being shared between him owning me, and Roman owning me...oh, but Roman owns herself for the moment.

For my lone reviewer: Roman love, I'm not too certain I've even let Thomas know the URL yet, not to mention the fact that he apparently hasn't been online recently. .:Shrugs and grins:. I'm sure you'll hear about when he finds out .:snickers slightly:.

Rating: Slight inferences and innuendos, but all-in-all, still PG-13

- - -

Nessa slipped into the Great Hall the next morning and stood to one side, in the usual place that Roman and her met up – it was difficult being in a different House, but Nessa supposed it happened occasionally. Tapping her foot slightly, she glanced around a little nervously – Roman had been fairly cool towards her all of the day before, after the Thomas incident, and she wouldn't be too surprised if Roman still wasn't particularly happy.

Spotting Roman walk in, Nessa smiled at the girl hesitantly, and waved. Roman smiled faintly and headed over to her.  
"Good morning, sweets," she said to Nessa, giving her a hug.  
Nessa breathed a mental sigh of relief – she seemed normal enough.  
"How was it in the Common Room last night?" she asked softly.  
Roman chuckled.  
"Have a look for yourself," she said, nodding towards the door.

Thomas entered the Great Hall, looking extremely awkward and as though he was trying to hide it. Nessa watched him walk across the Hall, and noticed something slightly bizarre.  
"Uh...Roman, is there a reason why his stride is about half the length it should be?" she asked.  
Roman grinned, looking a little malicious.  
"It appears he had some difficulty with his sheets last night," she replied, not even bothering to look slightly innocent. "And from what I could hear this morning, certain pieces of his underclothing was a little bit tighter than they should have been..."  
Nessa's eyes widened, and she continued to watch Thomas hobble across Hall. She let out a small giggle.  
"Roman, that was terrible of you," she said, looking up at the taller girl.  
"I know it was, and I'm full of remorse and shame," Roman replied swiftly, not looking at all repentant. She casually draped a possessive arm around Nessa's shoulder and chuckled softly.  
"At least now he should learn to leave my Ness alone," she said, smiling down at her.  
"If he's anything like Draco," Nessa began quietly, and then decided to leave alone. She nodded and smiled at Roman, before slipping out from under the girl's arm.  
"I'll see you in Charms," she said cheerfully, and headed for the Hufflepuff Table.

- - -

Nessa watched in surprise as the majority of the Slytherins filed in late – that, however, was usual. What surprised her was the fact that Thomas was right in the middle of them.  
"I didn't know he was a bloody Sixth year!" she hissed to Roman, who was sitting next to her.  
Roman was frowning, not looking happy.  
"I didn't know, either!" she grumbled, wishing she'd insisted that Nessa sit in the seat closest to the wall.

Thomas, on the other hand, appeared highly amused as he walked further into the classroom and noticed Nessa and Roman. He murmured something to the people surrounding him, and broke off, veering in the direction of Nessa.

"Damn it," Roman muttered, shuffling slightly closer to Nessa, and trying her best to look threatening.  
Nessa raised her eyebrows at Roman's movements, but made no comment, instead smiling at the approaching Thomas.  
"Good morning," she said to him politely.  
Thomas grinned at her, and slipped into the empty seat beside her.  
"Good morning, love," he replied, and then nodded at Roman.  
"Morning," he said, sounding cold.

Roman barely inclined her head at him, not at all pleased that he was in the same Year as herself and Nessa. Nessa looked pointedly at Roman, who looked pointedly in the opposite direction and in turn found the opposite direction looking pointedly back at her.  
"What?" Roman muttered, disgruntled.  
"Nothing, dear," the opposite direction sighed, before moving off to become the same direction.  
"Just as well," Roman replied, turning to follow it, "otherwise I'd have to curse you off the wall or something."  
The opposite direction chuckled – or was it the same direction now? "My dear, I was cursed onto the wall - do you really think a little Sixth Year like yourself could change that?"  
"I'd sure like to try," was the grumbled response.  
It laughed and began to zoom around the four walls of the classroom, twittering madly.

Nessa looked at Roman in awe.  
"How do you manage to set it off like that?" she asked, intrigued. "Nobody else except for Professor Flitwick can!"  
"I guess I'm just privileged then."

The door to the classroom opened again, and everyone looked expectantly at the space four feet off the ground. Instead of seeing old Flitwick's merry little face, however, their eyes were filled with the sight of a deep purple fabric.  
"Ah good, you're all here," a soft, medium voice commented.

Nessa nearly fell off her chair, literally – she knew that voice!  
Thomas, it seemed, had quick reflexes, and quickly prevented her from falling backwards.  
"What's the matter, love?" he asked softly, looking at her expression.  
Nessa blinked at the person who'd just walked into the room, slightly disbelievingly, and merely shook her head at Thomas, unable to answer.  
Roman grinned, and took the opportunity to fill in for the other girl, forgetting temporarily who had asked the question.  
"What she's trying to tell you, is that the dear Professor who just walked in is her own sister!"  
Her eyes widened suddenly as she realised that she'd just spoken to Thomas, willingly and cheerfully. She slumped against the desk, looking unimpressed.  
"Great, now I have to cut my tongue out," she muttered.

Thomas merely absorbed Roman's words, without acknowledging who had said them. He looked down at Nessa, a slight smile forming.  
"The Charms professor is your sister?" he asked her.  
Nessa nodded, her eyes bulging slightly and she looked to be in danger of choking.  
Thomas smirked and drew Nessa close, putting an arm about her waist.  
"You don't look so well, love," he drawled, still smirking.  
Roman huffed, and thwacked her head on the desk a couple of times, her hands itching to slap the smirk off Malfoy's face.

'_Do it,_' a little voice murmured in her ear.  
"I can't," she muttered back. "I'm sworn against physical violence..."  
'_So?_' came the reply.  
Roman glanced at her shoulder as a tiny mouse came crawling down from the wall behind her and perched there, snuffling at her expectantly. She sighed.  
"Give it up," she informed it, picking it up by the tail and placing it gently on top of the head of the Slytherin girl sitting in the row in front of her.  
'_That's not nice!_' the little voice said, apparently coming form the mouse as it snuffled again at Roman, and scrabbled lightly in the girl's hair to make itself comfortable anyway.  
"What is with this classroom and harassing me?" she grumbled, ignoring the mouse and the Slytherin's screams.

Arness stood in the doorway, watching the Slytherin screaming and jumping around hysterically. She raised her eyebrows, stepped forward and carefully removed the mouse from the girl's head.  
"That's quite enough, thank you," she said firmly, cradling the mouse gently in her fingers.  
The girl's friend, looking highly embarrassed, reached out and pulled the other Slytherin back to her seat, murmuring quickly in her ear – she stopped screaming and flushed faintly, aware that she'd made an idiot of herself.  
"Much better," Arness remarked mildly, walking to her desk and perching on the edge of it, absently stroking the mouse.  
"I suppose you're all wondering where Professor Flitwick is," she began after a moment. "As it is, there's a very simple explanation – he requested that he be allowed to go on an extended holiday, and naturally the Headmaster agreed. It seems dear Filius," she continued, ignoring the mutters and glances she'd gained by breaking from tradition and using a fellow Professor's first name, "was feeling a little, shall we say—stressed by the end of last year." Her eyes flicked briefly over to Roman, who instantly sat up straight and tried to look innocent.  
Arness grinned at her, not fooled in the slightest.

"Anyway, the only house-keeping sort of thing left for me to do is introduce myself," she said, standing up and looking around. "I'm Professor Arness Meneldur: to you I'm suppose to be Professor Meneldur, but quite frankly I don't care. Call me Arness, Professor, Crazy Woman, whatever, but please refrain from swearing at me directly."

She gently placed the mouse on her desk, where it sat quite calmly, little nose quivering slightly, and walked to the blackboard, clearing it with an absent with of her wand.

"Okay, so from what I've seen of Filius' files, you are all well above O.W.L standards, obviously, and he seems to believe that many of you are ready to move on at a faster pace than normal."  
Arness turned to the class, grinning slightly. "I'm going to be testing his theory and setting you a charm that most people don't learn until about part-way through their Seventh Year. Don't stress," she said, over the top of the loud groans from the class. "This is not examinable, unless a large proportion of the class can perform it, in which case..." She grinned again, a gleam in her eyes.

She gave her wand another slight wave at the board, and words began to appear.  
"Copy that down, and I'll explain it to you more fully, as well. The Sustain Charm," Arness pronounced, walking slowly across the front of the room. "I believe the textbook definition is something along the lines of, 'A charm designed to prolong and enhance one's energy and ability to continue, without rest, for extended periods of time."  
She snorted lightly and perched on the edge of her desk again. "Speaking simply, it temporarily gets rid of another's exhaustion. It _is_ a difficult charm to cast, not only because you may accidentally transfer the exhaustion into yourself, but also because it requires a large amount of concentration. You have to concentrate, simultaneously, on saying the incantation – not too complicated, in-and-of itself – then on removing the exhaustion, but imagining it released out free, instead of into yourself. Now, the incantation is '_sustento vigoris_' – remember, that's sus-TEN-to vi-GOR-is, make sure they're nice, long syllables. The wand movement is fairly simple – merely point it at the person and move it slowly and smoothly from side-to-side.  
"Before we begin testing our abilities, however, I have to give you warning – the charm is designed to remove your exhaustion, yes? Well, it'll do that, and more – you won't notice getting tired for 24 hours or more, and then you'll just drop, regardless of where you are. So you'll be doing yourselves a favour if you at least try to go to sleep tonight, even if you don't feel tired – believe me, you'll actually be tired, but you can't tell.  
"Okay, so once you've got those notes copied down," Arness finished, "then you can attempt the charm – but please remember everything I've told you..."

Arness continued talking, but Nessa tuned her out – she already knew what her sister would be saying, there was no point in listening. Finally recovering from her surprise, she quickly pushed up her left robe sleeve and scrawled down the notes from the board. Looking at her parchment, she sighed – she'd never have the same elegant hand-writing as Arness: it was physically impossible to write neatly and cleanly with a quill when you were left-handed!

Resting her elbows on the desk, and her chin in her hands, Nessa leaned slowly to the left, and peered at Roman's page – quick, small handwriting, not particularly neat, but intriguing. Leaning back over to the right, Nessa shot a quick smile at Thomas before looking down at his page – lazy, scrawled handwriting, with a lot of unnecessary loops between letters that shouldn't have been joined, but again intriguing. She sighed again, and balanced herself in the centre again, wrinkling her nose at her page – inkblots, smudges, fingerprints...name it, and it was there.

Finally noticing that Arness had finished talking, Nessa leaned down and pulled an inky-looking cloth from her bag. Scrubbing the side of her left hand, she grinned as all the ink stains came off – Roman could sure do wonders, when she put her mind to it. The cloth had been a birthday present several years ago, when Nessa had complained bitterly about the permanent ink stains she was getting on her hand from writing – the very next week, Roman had popped up on Nessa's birthday with the cloth, looking smug and pleased.

Suddenly looking over at the decidedly unhappy Roman, Nessa reached out and grasped her hand.  
"Roman hun, what's the matter?" she asked softly, tilting her head upwards slightly to see the other girl better.  
Roman glanced at Nessa, and forced a small smile.  
"Matter?" she replied, almost sounding innocent "Why on earth should anything be the matter?!"  
She smiled slightly painfully again, and turned away, muttering, "No, of course nothing is the matter - there's only a blonde-haired git laying his paws all over you, and you have nothing to say about it!"  
She bumped her head lightly against the wall, and then wished she hadn't – that dratted face-in-the-wall thing might come back!

"Roman, if you wouldn't mind leaving the walls in one piece, please," Arness' voice floated over to the girl suddenly.  
"As it is, you three are the only ones not paired up yet, so you'll have to work as a threesome..."

Thomas raised an eyebrow expressively, and smirked slightly.  
"So, girls, what say you? A threesome?" he asked, still smirking, Turning his whole body, one leg on either side of the bench, he reached out and looped an arm around Nessa, pulling her close towards him.  
Nessa gave a small, slightly nervous, chuckle, and glanced at Roman, expecting some sort of lewd response.  
"Let's just get this over with..." Roman muttered, pulling out her wand and pushing her sleeves back, looking slightly ominous.  
Pointing her wand at Thomas, over the top of Nessa's shoulder, she swished her wand energetically, and pronounced, "_Sustento rigoris_!"  
Blinking, she casually folded her arms and looked thoughtful.  
"Something's not quite right about that statement..." she commented, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.

Nessa giggled as Roman mispronounced the charm, but stopped suddenly. The hell-- ?  
She scooted forwards along the seat, away from Thomas, and turned back to stare at him, her cheeks a bright red.  
"Erm...Thomas?" she began hesitantly, but broke off, seeing the colour drain out of Thomas' face.  
"Professor," he said, the colour suddenly flooding back into his cheeks, turning an even bright shade of red than Nessa. "I just need to, uh—yeah."  
Sliding carefully to the end of the bench, he stood up, holding his robes out awkwardly, and headed for the door, racing the last few feet, and disappearing down the corridor.

Roman grinned slightly, before schooling her expression into one of slight surprise.  
"Well...what was that all about?" she asked innocently, looking down at Nessa.  
Nessa flushed again.  
"Um...your charm," she said softly, not quite meeting Roman's eyes. "It kind of...ahh...well, let's just say he'll be heading for the infirmary..." she finished lamely, gesturing slightly to try and demonstrate what she meant. Biting her lip lightly, she held her arm out straight in front of her, and slowly raised her hand to point upwards, looking meaningfully at Roman.  
Roman tilted her head to one side, her top hat in danger of sliding off, watching Nessa's little demonstration, and smirked suddenly, looking surprisingly evil.

"Well, you don't say!" she replied to Nessa, grinning. "I take it he's heading for the in-FIRM-ary, then?" She snickered slightly.  
Nessa coughed, looking highly embarrassed, and nodded faintly.  
Roman burst out into peals of laughter, collapsing against the desk.  
Nessa watched Roman, confused slightly, and then frowned suddenly.  
"That wasn't funny," she informed her friend, crossing her arms. "If you care to recall, I was sitting _right _in front of him..."  
Roman sat up straight, and looked at Nessa, calming down slightly.  
"I know...I'm sorry I had to traumatise you like that, pet," she said, beginning to giggle again. "But his expression was priceless!" She collapsed against the desk again, burying her face in her arms.  
  
Nessa watched Roman, her face unreadable for a moment.  
"You know, I sometimes wonder why I put up with you," she murmured softly, shaking her head slightly.  
Roman lifted her head, opened her mouth to reply, and promptly burst out into giggles again.  
Nessa tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, looking faintly annoyed.  
"I'm sorry, pet," Roman managed, giggling still. "I really...no, no, I'm not really, _really _sorry," she enunciated carefully. "I mean, I am sorry that I put you through that, but I'm definitely not sorry that I put _him_ through that."

"I...see," Nessa replied softly after a moment, still watching Roman, and obviously not entirely amused. She gave a very small smile, and turned away, pulling out a scrap of parchment and scribbling on it aimlessly, her face turned carefully away from Roman.

Roman didn't notice for a moment, too caught up in recovering any frayed strands of dignity she could to see Nessa looked unamused. Straightening her top hat carefully, she looked at Nessa, grinning. Seeing only the back of Ness' head, she raised an eyebrow slightly.  
"So...ah, what're you doing?" she asked, attempting any form of conversation.  
Nessa shrugged faintly, continuing to scratch some lines on the parchment.  
"Dunno," she replied, voice soft and slightly sharper than usual.  
Roman nodded and smiled slightly uneasily, reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck.  
"Erm – how about we go down to the lake after this?" she suggested. "I mean, we've both got a spare block next..."  
Nessa shrugged again, jabbing her quill down onto the parchment.  
"Dunno," came the short reply, the quill looking to be in danger to breaking.

Roman sighed quietly – bloody hell, but the girl was stubborn at times!  
"Have I offended you?" she asked softly, reaching out and gently taking the quill out of Nessa's hand.  
Nessa sighed, and rubbed her hand over her eyes.  
"Yes, no...I don't know," she replied after a moment, looking down at the desk. "I just...damn it, I don't know!" she growled faintly, slapping her hand down onto the desk.

It was true, she didn't know – she just couldn't think straight! All she knew for certain was that she was very confused, and she wasn't even certain of why.

"Alright, everyone, you can go now!" Arness' voice cut through her reverie. "Keeping practising that charm – I suspect Professor Flitwick was right in his theory..."

Nessa slowly picked up her bag and shoved everything into it, unusually untidy. Slinging it over her shoulder, she waved slightly at Arness and disappeared out the classroom door. She walked down the corridor for a while, feeling distinctly uncomfortable, before turning to Roman, who had managed to catch up with her.  
"Erm...I think I might just go back to the Common Room, if that's alright," she said quietly, not quite looking at Roman. "I have a couple of things I need to do..."  
Roman eyed her carefully, before nodding reluctantly. "Alright, pet," she replied. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"  
Nessa nodded slightly, and began to walk off, buried deep in her thoughts.  
  
Roman stood in the corridor, ignoring the complaints from the other students, and watched Nessa until she disappeared from view. Sighing quietly, she shook her head lightly, and turned on her heel, walking aimlessly through the castle.

- - -

Nessa kept her back straight and her pace slow and steady, until she rounded the first corner. Pressing back against the wall, she cautiously peeked back down the corridor, and gave a small sigh of relief – at least Roman hadn't questioned her or attempted to follow.  
  
Clutching her extra books against her chest, she ignored the strange looks she was getting while she debated what to do next. Should she go up to the Common Room, like she'd told Roman, or should she go to the infirmary and visit Thomas to apologise for her friend's behaviour. Or, and this was the hardest one, should she turn on her heel and find Roman, to apologise for her _own_ behaviour. She twitched her shoulders, feeling uncomfortable – none of them seemed like particularly appealing ideas. Going to the Common Room would just raise questions from her House mates, who knew she spent every spare moment with Rome. Of course, going to visit Thomas would probably be uncomfortable for the pair of them, not to mention probably start rumours flying if they weren't already, after that little charade in Charms. As for apologising to Roman – that had always been difficult. They'd only fought, properly, a couple of times, and each time Nessa had been far more emotional when apologising than she'd meant to be – she was always more emotional than she meant to be, if she was going to be completely honest.  
  
She sighed again, and leant her head back against the cold stone wall behind her – talk about your difficult decisions! Biting her lip lightly, she pushed herself away from the wall and walked slowly down the corridor, heading for the Hufflepuff Common Room to dump her bag before going to find Roman.

- - -

"Ah...Roman love?" Nessa said quietly, hesitantly, ducking under the branches of the weeping willow that was growing at the edge of the lake.  
"I thought you were going to the Common Room," Roman said, her voice floating down to her.  
Nessa flushed slightly and nodded.  
"So did I," she replied softly, "except...well, to be honest I got bored, and I wanted to...apologise...."  
Hearing a faint thud behind her, she turned around and smiled faintly at Roman.  
"Been playing up in the trees again?" she asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.  
  
Roman shrugged lightly.  
"I had nothing better to do," she replied, looking at Nessa slightly reproachfully.  
Nessa bit her lip and wrinkled her nose – she hated it when Roman looked at her like that. She jumped slightly as Roman reached out and ran her finger down Ness' nose.  
"I've told you before, pet, don't do that," Roman said gently, smiling down at the shorter girl.  
Nessa flushed slightly and cleared her throat, not looking at Roman, but at the ground.  
"Rome, I just wanted to...apologise for before," she began quietly. "I shouldn't have gotten annoyed with you over something like that – it was only a prank after all..."  
Roman rubbed the back of her neck, looking faintly embarrassed.  
"Nessa love," she replied, "you don't need to apologise-- ..."  
"Yes, I do," Nessa cut in firmly yet softly, finally looking up at Roman. "It was only a prank, and I was all ready to scream and yell at you for it, which wasn't a fair reaction. I mean, in other circumstances, I'd have been laughing and congratulating you on working out yet another new spell, but instead..." She shrugged expressively.  
"Ness, seriously, it's alright," Roman started again, laughing faintly and still looking embarrassed. "You don't need to apologise, okay?"  
Nessa sighed lightly and reached out, placing her hand Roman's arm.  
"I understand what you're saying," she replied quietly, raising her eyes to meet the other girl's gaze, "but apologising is possibly the only way that I'm going to feel a little better about the Charms thing." She let out a soft, rueful laugh. "Selfish, aren't I?"  
Roman grinned, and covered Nessa's hand with her own.  
"I wouldn't say selfish, love, because now _I_ understand what _you're_ saying," she said to Nessa, chuckling slightly, and pulling the smaller girl into a hug.  
Nessa smiled as well, and rested her head against Roman's shoulder, turning her face towards Rome's neck and closing her eyes. She stayed there for a moment, before impulsively stretching up and kissing Roman on the cheek.  
"Thank you," she breathed softly, smiling, before gently disentangling herself from Roman.  
"Anyway, I should get back to the Common Room, I do actually have stuff to do but I couldn't concentrate before," she added, raising an eyebrow slightly and grinning. "I'll see you later, okay?"  
Kissing Roman's cheek again, she wandered back towards the castle, leaving a slightly bemused Roman staring after her.

- - -


	5. Once Upon a Dream

Disclaimer:  .:Dutifully recites:. I, Nessa, do solemnly swear not to claim posession of Harry Potter or anything HP-related...it is copyright of J.K. Rowling, etc.  .:Pouts:.  Happy now?  Also, Roman owns me, and Thomas...probably owns himself.

- - -

Nessa settled down in the Common Room, smiling to herself - everything seemed to be sorted out with Roman, back to the way things were before. Still smiling, she picked up her bag and pulled out her books and quill, setting them on the table in front of her, and giving a wide yawn - she'd been late to bed the night before, and the day had been fairly eventful, she wasn't surprised she was tired.

Looking up as someone else entered the room, she smiled at her younger sister tiredly.   
"Hey, Mere," she said softly, "how has your day been?"   
Merenwen grinned and gave Nessa a hug before sitting down at the opposite side of the table.   
"Not too bad," she replied, beginning to pull out her own books. "I've certainly had worse...how about you?"   
Nessa raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes expressively, and turned her gaze back down to her books.   
"Let's not even go there," she murmured, letting out a small chuckle and gesturing that she'd tell Mere later.   
Beginning to work on her Ancient Runes homework, her fingers slowly loosened on the quill and her eyes began to cross, so that she couldn't focus on her writing properly. Finally giving up, she dropped her quill and folded her arms across the table, resting her head on them.   
'_Just a short nap,_' she told herself, drifting off to sleep. '_Just a...short..._'

- - -

_A man stands tall, back perfectly straight, and circles around the small, delicate figure in the same clearing._

"_Are you ready?" he asks suddenly, standing on the left-hand side of the other person.   
"I am," comes the reply, strong, clear, and strangely melodious - a female, then.   
Nodding faintly yet approvingly, the man raises his own arm and lays his hand on the girl's forearm.   
"You have proved yourself worthy of becoming one of our number," he intones, fingers visibly tightening on the girl's arm.   
The girl stands impassively as he begins to murmur soft words, when she suddenly lets out a sharp gasp and sways on her feet, closing her eyes.   
Unperturbed, the man continues, his voice slowly growing louder until he cries the final word at the top of his lungs. Gently pulling at the girl's sleeve, he pushes it up past her elbow, revealing a strange mark. An eerie glow begins to fill the clearing, highlighting both faces - the man, with a large smile of triumph on his face, and the girl, strangely familiar, eyes open again and gazing at the new mark.   
"Welcome," the man says, lifting his gaze from the mark to gaze at the girl, "to the Death Eaters, Lessien."_

- - -

Nessa jerked upright, sending her books and scraps of parchment flying about the room. Breathing shallowly and quickly, not quite hyperventilating, she stared out the window, eyes wide.

"Nessa?" a voice asked cautiously.   
Jumping violently, she turned in her chair to look wildly about her, eyes finally settling on Merenwen, who was kneeling next to her, eyes concerned.   
"Are you alright, Ness? I heard you whimpering," Mere added, laying her hand gently on her sister's arm.   
Blinking rapidly, Nessa stared down at Merenwen, her breathing still too fast.   
"I- I'm fine," she replied softly, staring down at where Mere's hand was resting, on her left forearm. Eyes widening further, Nessa moved suddenly and pulled her sleeve up, staring intently at her pale, unmarked arm.   
"I just need to go see Roman," she muttered, getting out of her seat clumsily, and heading for the door.   
"But Ness, it's too..." Merenwen began before sighing, watching Nessa disappear down the corridor. "It's too late to go visiting," she finished quietly to herself, sighing lightly and settling down in a chair to wait for Nessa to return.

- - -

Nessa paced outside the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room, tapping her nails together nervously. She wasn't supposed to be there, she knew that, but she _had_ to talk to Roman! All she needed to do was figure out how to get into the Common Room itself.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Nessa tried to sink into one of the numerous shadows, thinking it might be a professor. The footsteps grew louder and louder, and Nessa held her breath, hoping she wouldn't be found. Suddenly the footsteps stopped completely - Nessa swallowed nervously, and, trying to breath very quietly, she attempted to move deeper into the shadows.

"What are you doing here, Ness?" a deep, familiar voice asked her. A hand snaked forwards and grasped her gently, pulling her into the dimly light corridor.   
"I, er..." Nessa stammered, staring down at the ground and avoiding Thomas' intent gaze.   
He chuckled quietly and let go of her, taking a step backwards and tucking his hands into his pockets. Nessa forced herself to calm down, and then smiled at him.   
"So, ah...Madam Pomfrey sorted everything out, then?" she asked quietly, flushing slightly at the memory.   
"Indeed she did," Thomas replied easily, his eyes never leaving her face. "Didn't even ask any questions, not like that nosy nurse we had at Beauxbatons."   
Nessa smiled faintly.   
"That's good to know," she murmured softly, shuffling her feet slightly as though uncomfortable. Thomas noticed and smirked slightly.   
"You didn't answer my question," he reminded her, leaning back against the wall. "What are you doing here?"   
Nessa wrinkled her nose - she'd hoped he'd forgotten about that.   
"I need to talk to Roman," she replied quietly, staring at the ground, her hair falling around her face.   
Thomas nodded, tilting his head slightly and looking at her. "I see," he said simply.   
Reaching out, he carefully placed his hand under her chin and gently lifted her head, smiling at her.   
"Much better," he breathed, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes.   
Nessa lifted her gaze to look at him, a blush slowly spreading over her cheeks. He smiled down at her, his hand lingering against her redder-than-normal cheek.   
Blinking in confusion, she cleared her throat and stepped backwards, the shadows half-covering her face. She gave a small, nervous laugh.   
"Thomas, we've only just met," she said weakly, toying with her necklace.   
He watched her for a moment, his expression unreadable and his hand dropping slowly back down to his side.   
"I know," he replied finally. "Trust me, I know." Something flickered in his eyes, and he added, a little abruptly, "I'll go get Roman for you."   
Turning on his heel, Thomas continued down the corridor and, reaching a spot a short distance down, very quietly murmured the password. About to step through into the passageway, he paused and turned back to Nessa.   
"Come to Hogsmeade with me in our next break...we'll talk..."   
He gave her the chance to nod in agreement, before disappearing into the Slytherin Common Room, the stone door silently sliding closed behind him.

Nessa barely had chance to collapse against the wall behind her, breathing deeply, when the door slid open and Roman came out, looking about her.   
"What on Earth are you doing her, pet?" she asked Nessa quietly, looking at the other girl in concern.   
Nessa watched as the door slid closed again, and then turned her gaze to Roman.   
"We need to talk," she murmured, biting her lip lightly. "It's about...Lessien," she breathed

Roman blinked - there was name she hadn't heard for a very long time!   
"Alright, pet," she replied calmly, taking Nessa's hand and leading her swiftly down the corridor. "I've got just the place we can go to talk."   
Ducking down another passage, even more dimly light than the main Slytherin Common Room, Roman halted in front of a painting, and began murmuring rapidly to its occupant, who nodded once and stepped aside, causing the whole painting to slip sideways into the wall. Pushing Nessa through the secret passageway, Roman mutter a hushed thanks as she crossed the threshold, and received, and received a very muffled 'You're welcome' as the portrait slid back into place.

Nessa shivered - the passage was pitch-black, the air stale and cold. Running her hand along the wall to help keep her balance, she immediately wished she hadn't as the cold, damp slime covering the walls began to coat her fingers.   
"Rome, where are we going?" she asked, her voice echoing strangely. Looking about her blindly, she stopped walking, worried that they'd get separated. Feeling a finger brush over the back of her hand, she obediently turned it palm-up and felt Roman grasp her hand. Sighing slightly in relief, she curled her own fingers around the other girl's hand.   
"Where are we going?" she asked again, carefully following Roman down the hall.   
"We're going somewhere we won't be interrupted," Roman replied, her voice slightly distorted by the strange acoustics in the hallway. "If something's happened to make you mention Lessien again after all these years, then I suspect we'll need as much privacy as possible."   
Nessa raised her eyebrows and nodded weakly.   
"You're not wrong there," she murmured, jumping slightly as her voice bounced back from the walls. "Where the hell are we, anyway? I'm starting to hate the feel in here!"   
Roman chuckled softly.   
"We're directly under the lake," she replied, slowing her pace slightly. "That's why it's so weird in here."   
Stepping to one side, she gently guided the girl forward, and took hold of her hands, placing it against the wall - or, more to the point, folded Nessa's fingers over the rung of the ladder directly in front of them.   
"Climb up there, pet, and we'll be nice and safe from interruptions and eavesdroppers."   
Nessa nodded numbly and began to climb without question, ignoring the slightly slimy feeling of the rungs beneath her fingers. Feeling earth under her hands instead of metal, she carefully stood on the small piece of land, just high enough for her to be able to stand without crouching. Hesitantly, she stretched outwards and felt along the earth walls, searching for any sort of passage.   
After a short moment, she heard Roman's soft chuckle behind her.   
"Upwards, pet," the other girl breathed, reaching over Nessa to press against the ground overhead and carefully open the trapdoor there. "I should have mentioned where it was, but never mind."   
Nessa smiled slightly to herself and grasped the edges of the open space over her head, pulling herself over the rim and swinging herself out of Roman's way.

"What is this place?" she asked softly, looking around curiously.   
"This is my little hideaway," Roman answered, appearing through the hole and standing up. "I found it the first year we were here, and I've been using it since, whenever I've wanted some time to myself."   
Nessa nodded absently, continuing to look about. "I can understand needing to get away," she replied after a moment, turning to face Roman and shivering slightly. Roman merely smiled and carefully lit the fireplace in the corner.   
"Come sit down, pet, and we'll talk," she suggested quietly, settling down on the cushions placed near the fire.   
Nessa let out a soft, slightly shuddering breath, and walked to Roman, sitting down near her.

"You remember what I've told you about Lessien in the past, don't you?" she asked softly, not quite looking at Roman, but catching the other girl's silent nod none-the-less. "Well, I had a dream about her tonight- not like the others," she added in a hurry. "Not dreams about the past. This was different - it was more like a dream of the present."

Quietly, she began to describe the dream, toying with the hem of her skirt, not looking at Roman.   
"It was...scary," she finished, biting her lip lightly. "It was like I was really there, standing in the clearing, watching that...man put that mark on my sister's arm."   
Roman stayed silent for a moment, her eyes unreadable.   
"Do you think it was real?" she asked after a moment.   
Nessa nodded, shrugging uncomfortably.   
"I do - I have no reason to believe that it's real, no reason to think that Lessien's alive or a Death Eater or that she even existed outside of my imagination, but...I just have a feeling - it's real, and it was happening tonight." Slowly she looked up, gazing almost nervously at Roman.   
"Do you think she's really alive?" she asked softly, her eyes filling with tears. "Do you think it's true?"   
Roman moved, and gently wrapped Nessa in a hug.   
"Pet, I believe you," she said, rocking the smaller girl slightly. "I have since the first day you mentioned Lessien, and if anything, this dream makes me believe you more."   
She heard a small, inquiring noise from Nessa, and began to explain. "Being in Slytherin means I tend to hear some things that I'd rather not at times. That mark you described sounds like the Dark Mark all Death Eaters have imprinted in their left arm - _he_ uses it to summon them to his side, it burns hot upon him touching the Dark Mark of another. Pet, nobody outside Slytherin could know that, and very few people in Slytherin know it either. I just happened to...overhear it," she added, before Nessa could ask.   
"You really believe me?" Nessa asked in a small voice, curled up against Roman. "You aren't just humoring the fantasies of a mad girl, are you?"   
Roman smoothed Nessa's hair, holding her close. "Love, there's only one mad girl in this room, and that would be me. You're a perfectly, wonderfully sane woman - trust me, I've known you long enough. Although," she continued, pretending to sound thoughtful, "if you really were all that sane, you wouldn't have made friends with me in the first place."   
Nessa gave a small, weak chuckle, and wrapped her arms around Roman.   
"Thank you for that," she said softly, moving one arm to wipe the tears off her cheek.

"Rome," Nessa murmured after a few moments of silence, "what should I do about Lessien?"   
Roman frowned lightly and tightened her arms around Nessa.   
"I think we need to sort out what happened that night, why you're the only one who remembers," she replied, rubbing Nessa's back lightly. "Obviously it was some sort of variation on the Memory Charm - have you ever tried asking Arness about those sort of charms?"   
"No, I haven't," Nessa murmured sleepily, her eyes drifting closed. "Never thought of doing that..."   
Her voice trailed off, and her breathing began to slow down, evening out.   
Roman looked down at Nessa, and gently smoothed back the girl's hair, trailing her fingers down her cheek.   
"Sleep well, my love," she murmured, leaning her cheek against the top of Nessa's head and closing her eyes. "Sleep well..."

- - -


	6. Social events and debates

Author's note: Firstly, a big thank-you to Jhordan for pulling me out of a writing block with the random line, "The toilet isn't working." Beautiful, thanks! Secondly, I'd like to give full credit to Roman for Thomas' nickname - I'm sure you'll see what I mean...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story that is related to Harry Potter. Roman's in possession of herself and me, and Thomas owns himself.

- - -

"Where were you the other night?"  
"What do you mean?"  
It was finally Friday, and Nessa finally had another spare block. Living up to her promise, she was sitting in the Three Broomstick with Thomas, who'd bought them both a butterbeer.

Thomas snorted lightly.  
"Come now, missy, surely you've heard the rumours flying around the school. I expect everyone knows by now that you spent a night out of your dorm room…"  
Nessa hastily took a sip of her butterbeer, and avoided meeting Thomas' eyes. Yes, indeed she had heard some of the rumours, each one more degrading than the last, but it wasn't like she could actually _say_ anything against them - after all, she had spent the night out of bed.  
"Oh, er…that," she began weakly, finally looking up at him. "You know how I needed to talk to Roman? Well, we did talk, and then I just, kinda…fell asleep…" She blushed, and shifted her gaze slightly, so that she was looking more over his shoulder than at his face. "Roman didn't have the heart to wake me, so we both ended up spending the night there, instead of in our dorms…"  
"I see," Thomas replied, amusement shining clearly in his pale grey eyes. "I'm sure you've heard some of the conclusions people are drawing," he added, not quite questioning her.  
"Yes, I have," Nessa murmured softly, her expression darkening slightly. "It's pathetic." She looked down at the table and frowned lightly - why did everyone have to assume the worst!?  
"Hey, I never said I agreed with them, Nessa love," Thomas said quickly, reaching out and touching her hand lightly. "I was merely mentioning it."  
Nessa smiled slightly.  
"I know - I guess it's just an automatic reaction," she explained, looking back up at him.  
Thomas nodded, carefully curling his hand around hers.  
"Trust me, I understand that - if you want a school that's filled with gossip, you should try Beauxbatons. Anyway," he continued, watching Nessa, "not to pry or anything, but what were you and Roman talking about?"  
Nessa eyed Thomas, slightly dubious. Should she tell him? After all, they'd only known each other since the start of the year, and hadn't really had much opportunity to talk properly. And he was Draco's cousin - Merlin, if he told Draco...  
Almost impulsively, she began to tell him the whole tale, right from that night when she was four, all the way through to the dream. She briefly considered leaving out the Dark Mark section, but almost unthinking kept going, describing the dream in detail.

Thomas remained silent for a moment once Nessa had finished.  
"That sounds famili…" he began, before cutting himself off, blinking, and trying again. "You're the only one in your entire family who can remember Lessien?"  
"Nobody else remembers, no matter how many times I mention her," Nessa replied softly, toying with her necklace out of nervousness. "I just learned to stop talking about her after a while - it was upsetting everyone, especially Mum."  
Thomas nodded, still looking thoughtful.  
"It must have been hard on you, after all, you were only four."  
"I had Roman - at that age, it was enough for me."  
"But now?" he asked softly, looking at Nessa intently. "Why did you tell me? You've only known me a short while, as you so kindly reminded that night…"  
Nessa flushed slightly – it had been a little cruel to remind him of that.  
"I don't really know why," she admitted after a moment. "I guess I just…needed to talk to someone else, get a fresh viewpoint…" She shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed.

Thomas nodded again, his hand still wrapped around Nessa's. Glancing down at the table, he appeared to just notice that he was holding her hand, and he grinned slightly – she hadn't made any move to take her hand back.  
"Let's go shopping," he suggested suddenly, having just done a mental count of how much money he had with him. Smiling at Nessa's slightly bemused expression, he added, "I want to treat my favourite Hufflepuff to something, anything – anything you wish at all."  
Nessa's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" she asked softly, giving a small laugh.  
Thomas chuckled and squeezed her hand lightly. "Perfectly, love," he said firmly, rising from the table and gently helping her to do the same. "Any suggestions on a place to go first?" he asked, guiding Nessa to the door.  
"Not really – let's just wander, and see where that takes us…"

- - -

"Look what Thomas bought me today!" Nessa said excitedly, standing in front of Roman and twirling around in a circle.

Roman scowled momentarily – bloody Thomas _again_! Deciding to ignore any references to Thomas for the moment, she concentrated on Nessa, blinking in surprise as she did so. The other girl was wearing formal dress robes and a cloak, but like nothing Roman had ever seen before. A deep forest green, the robes appeared to be made of silk, and were cut superbly, showing off Nessa's curves beautifully, if not a little too much for Roman's liking. The cloak was made of a fine, flowing velvet, shining slightly in the light and falling elegantly off Nessa's shoulders. Both were obviously expensive – the cut and fabric was enough to tell her that – and Nessa looked absolutely gorgeous in them.  
"They're…You look beautiful, pet," Roman managed to say, after a moment.  
Rising from her spot on the floor, she walked towards Nessa, and then hesitated at giving the girl a hug. Nessa solved the dilemma for her by stepping forward as well, and giving Roman a hug. Still slightly hesitant, Roman wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's waist, and rested her cheek against Nessa's head.  
"You look stunning, kitten. I'm sure anyone would be delighted to have you on their arm," she added carefully, the silk feeling smooth under her fingers.  
Nessa blushed and pulled back, smiling up at Roman.  
"That's sweet, love," she said, looking embarrassed – she'd never been able to handle compliments too well. "So, ah…what did you get up to today, while I was out?"  
Roman shrugged and let go of Nessa with one hand, keeping her right arm wrapped her the other girl's waist and gently pulling her to sit on the ground with her.  
"Very little, pet, with you not here," she replied truthfully, settling comfortably back against the wall.  
Nessa carefully folded her legs under her, and leant against Roman.  
"A boring and uneventful day in the life of Roman de la Croix?" she asked, teasing. "Surely not."  
"Ah, but it's true, kitten, I did nothing of interest."  
Nessa laughed, still of a mind not to believe Roman completely.  
"Well…did you want to do something now?"  
"As much as I want to say yes, pet, it's getting a little late to do anything much. I'm just going to head for the Common Room, I think."  
Nessa nodded slightly, understanding.  
"I might head for the library," she said, looking at Roman, "see if I can find out anything about Memory Charms."  
"A good idea," Roman affirmed, nodding as well. Shifting gently, she guided Nessa to be sitting upright and then stood up herself. "I'll see you in the morning, before breakfast, but if you need me before then, you know where I am."  
"Indeed I do," Nessa said as Roman began to head off. "Sleep well!"

- - -

"The toilet isn't working…"  
"Huh?!"  
Nessa looked up from her book, completely confused.  
"I said, the toilet isn't working," Thomas repeated, settling into the chair beside Nessa and peering over her shoulder at the book.  
"I…see," she murmured, raising her eyebrows. "How does that relate to anything?"  
Thomas grinned and shrugged.  
"It doesn't," he replied easily, reaching out and pushing the book upwards so he could see the title. "Just thought I'd say it 'coz I could. '501 Spells to Modify Memories'?" he asked slightly incredulously. "That's not exactly light, bed-time reading, Ness."  
Nessa flushed slightly and slammed the book shut, putting it down on the table in front of her.  
"I'm, er…just doing some research."  
"Ness, love," Thomas began, laughing quietly, "no-one volunteers to do research, and I know for a fact that it's not research for school work."  
Nessa sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing her hand across her forehead.  
"I know, and to be honest, I don't think I could read much more of it. I feel like my head's about to explode," she admitted, opening her eyes and looking at Thomas.  
"I'll bet," Thomas replied, reaching out and gently pressing his cool hands against her temples. "Take a break," he advised. "Whatever you're doing, surely it can wait."  
"I'm not sure it can," Nessa said quietly, looking seriously at Thomas.  
He frowned lightly. "What's so important that it can't wait until the morning?"  
"It's about…Lessien again."  
"Oh…right," Thomas said, somehow looking a little uncomfortable. "About that, Ness…" he began, and then stopped, staring out the nearest window, his eyes widening slightly.  
"What? Thom, what is it?" she asked, feeling vaguely nervous. Noticing him stare distractedly out the window, she began to turn around.  
"Ah, nothing!" Thomas said quickly, shifting his hands slightly and turning her face back to his. "Never mind, it…wasn't anything important." He smiled reassuringly and gently caressed her cheek.  
Nessa merely looked at him, and then gave a nearly inaudible sigh as he caressed her cheek, her eyes drifting closed.  
"You like that, do you Ness?" Thomas asked, a small smile crossing his features.  
"Yes…" she breathed softly, pressing her own hand against the back of his. Sitting like that for a few moments, her eyes suddenly flew open and her hand dropped away from his, her cheeks reddening. "Look, I…I'm sorry, we shouldn't…"  
"We haven't done anything, so there's nothing to be sorry for." Slowly, Thomas lifted his own hand from Nessa's cheek, seeming a touch reluctant to do so. "Look, love, if you want my opinion, you've managed for twelve years without knowing about Memory Charms – what difference will one night make?"  
Nessa sat for a moment, thinking, before getting to her feet and replacing the book back on the shelf.  
"You're right," she said firmly, turning back to Thomas, "it can wait. Could you…I mean, would you mind walking me back to the Common Room?" she asked. Her cheeks had slowly been returning to their normal colour, but at her own question, they flushed slightly again.  
Thomas grinned, and flourished a bow, holding his arm out to her.  
"I would be delighted to escort you, fair lady, yet I fear I do not know the way," he said, quirking an eyebrow slightly.  
Nessa smiled, and then hesitated – usually, the Houses tried to keep their entrances secret from each other, it was very rare for someone in a different House to know any of the other entrances. Throwing caution to the wind, she performed a small, elegant curtsey and then laid her hand on his arm.  
"Gentle sir, just head for the entrance hall," she replied, a little flippantly. "I can lead you better from there."

- - -

Thomas paced around the Slytherin Common Room, running a hand through his hair fretfully. He was by no means the only person there, but everyone else seemed to be ignoring him – except for the tall red-head curled up in a seat in the corner. Her clear eyes followed his path about the room, and she grinned slightly to herself. Getting up out of her seat, she wandered over and planted herself squarely in his path, chuckling lightly as he barely stopped in time to avoid crashing into her.  
"What's the matter, porcupoppet?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him. "It's not every day someone tries to wear a hole in slate tiles."  
Thomas scowled faintly and crossed his arms.  
"So we're playing civil today, are we?" he asked in reply, sounding a little caustic and frustrated.  
"My dear, we _play_ at being civil everyday," Roman said, still grinning, "but maybe we can actually mean it this time, hmm?"  
Thomas continued to scowl, but followed Roman back to her corner, hanging back for a moment while she settled down before cautiously taking a seat himself.  
"Now," Roman began, linking her hands together, "it's quite obvious to me that you're worried about something. If you weren't friends with Nessa, I'd leave you to your own devices and let you wear a hole in the slate. As it is…what's bothering you?"  
Thomas stared at her a moment, expression unreadable.  
"You must care about Nessa a great deal if you're willing to talk to me," he said finally, eyes not moving from Roman's.  
"Yeah, well…let's forget about that for a moment, and concentrate on you. What's the matter?" Rome asked again.  
"Alright then, just remember you asked for it. Let's say – hypothetically, of course – that something has happened to someone I lo- …care about a great deal, and they're really upset. I kinda…know something that might help, but then again, it might make the situation worse. Should I tell them, or leave it for the moment?" Thomas asked carefully, making sure he kept his expression blank.  
"That's a deep one you've got there, porcupoppet," Roman commented, grinning at his reaction to the nickname. "Okay, so let's delude ourselves and pretend, momentarily, that this is hypothetical. I say that you should tell them – if you don't and they _happen_ to find out that you know something, they're going to be offended and never trust you again. At least by telling them, you've been completely honest with them, and they can take their time to think it over. Make sense?"  
Thomas nodded shortly, and got to his feet.  
"Thanks, Roman," he said, heading for his dorm.  
"Oh, and Thomas?" Roman called, smiling sweetly at him as he turned around and raised an eyebrow. "If you don't tell Nessa whatever it is you know, I'll be having a little talk to her – clear?"  
"Subtle, Roman, very subtle," Thomas replied dryly, disappearing out of sight as he rounded corner to the Boys Dorms.  
"Of course it was, Tommy. I am the epitome of subtleness," she murmured, smirking and settling back in her chair, gazing lazily around the Common Room once more – that had gone better than she expected. Humming cheerfully, she climbed to her feet and walked to her own dorm, listening to her thoughts – if he hurt her in anyway, that vow against violence might just have to be reversed.


	7. Admissions and more debates

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or Hogwarts, damnit! Why must I repeat myself?! Roman's hers, I'm Roman's, and, for a bizarre twist, Thomas can be mine .:grins:.

Author's Note:A **BIG** thank you, and credit to Thomas for the flashback sequence - if not for you, love, I'd probably still be stuck, lol.

- - -

Nessa stared again at the strange note that had been owled to her.  
"Meet me under the Weeping Willow near the lake next Friday at 2pm."  
It was signed 'Thomas' – short and to the point, it told Nessa nothing about why she was, indeed, sitting under the Willow on a Friday afternoon.  
Fidgeting slightly, she turned to Roman, sitting quietly beside her.  
"Do you think he'll come?" she asked worriedly for about the sixth time, folding and unfolding the note.  
"Pet, he's the one who asked you to come," Roman replied reassuringly, lounging back against the tree. "What reason could he possibly have for not showing up?"  
"Certainly not one good enough," Nessa muttered, twisting her fingers together nervously.  
"Well, then it's a good thing I'm here, isn't it?" Thomas' voice rang out, making Nessa jump as he ducked under the branches and stood in front of her, glancing at Roman and raising an eyebrow. "I was sort of hoping to talk to you by yourself," he added, looking vaguely uncomfortable.  
Roman sat up, apparently about to throw a sharp retort at Thomas, but Nessa spoke up quickly.  
"Look, Thom, it doesn't really matter if she's here – if she wasn't, I'd just find her later and talk to her. So, it makes sense for Roman to stay."  
Roman grinned and nodded in agreement, leaning back against the tree again.  
"Fine, alright, she can stay," Thomas said, sighing and sitting down on the ground. "Just don't murder me, or curse me or anything when I'm done, okay?"  
"Thomas, I'm against violence, remember?" Roman drawled lazily, pretending disinterest and closing her eyes part-way.  
Thomas snorted disbelievingly and turned his gaze back to Nessa, taking a deep breath.  
"Okay, this is going to be really difficult to explain, so just…try not to interrupt."  
He stared at the ground a moment, clearly organising what he was going to say – Nessa remained silently, merely watching him, an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

"That day in Hogsmeade, when you were telling me about Lessien," he began, looking up at Nessa and holding her gaze, "it wasn't the first time I'd ever heard her name. Lessien's not exactly a common name, especially not among the…" He paused and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, I'm not explaining this particularly well. Let's just say…I have contacts with the Death Eaters – I'm not part of them, per say," he added truthfully, "but I do…know them, some of them quite well. Including a girl called Lessien – she _is_ a Death Eater, just became one recently, but before then she was like me – attending meetings, learning…things, but without the Dark Mark. We've known each other for years, and right at the beginning, she told me about her background, that she didn't know who her real family was. I never thought much of it…until Hogsmeade, when you told me about a younger sister stolen from your family named Lessien. This Lessien's the right age, and to be honest, there's even a hint of _you_ about her – not much, but enough to be noticed if you're looking for it. I went to see her earlier this week…"

- - -

_Thomas sits by himself, throwing stones into a small lake behind the Dark Lord's base - he sighs.  
"Merlin...I wish Ness was here…" he mutters.  
"You mean your __**girlfriend**__," a familiar voice sounds behind him, voice slightly teasing.  
He turns around and grins. "I can dream. Hey, Lessien..."  
Lessien moves beside him and sits down, looking at his face. "You 'right?" she asks, pulling her cloak back from her face.  
Thomas nods. "Fan-fucking-tastic..." he drawls, throwing another rock into the lake. The moon's reflection scatters from a perfect circle to a swirling pattern of white sparkly lines. Lessien looks at it - she seems rather silent. Thomas looks at her, quizzically.  
"Now who's the silent one?" he asks with a smirk. She looks at him.  
"Thomas......do...do I have a family..." she asks finally, her petite face serious. Thomas sighs slightly. "Lessien...That's what I wanted to talk to you about," he says, shifting his body so he is looking directly at her. "Yes, you do have a family," he announces, watching her carefully.  
Lessien's face lights up. "I ...I what?!" she exclaims.  
Thomas smiles. "You heard, Lessien. You're really Lessien Meneldur, if I'm correct, and you have a family - two of your sisters go to Hogwarts, the other one is a Professor there. Your sisters are called Arness, Merenwen, and the girl I talk about all the time, Nessa. Judging by how old you are, they are your older sisters," he says. "I'm not too sure on the parents yet. I haven't met them..."  
Lessien's face goes from extremely happy to extremely miserable. "...Why didn't they...look for me?" she asks quietly.  
Thomas shakes his head. "When you were taken, they used a memory charm on the family," he explains. "Only one still remembers, and that's Nessa – she's been looking for you for years, she's never forgotten you. I was talking to her only the other day, and she told me the whole story – she true-dreams of you…"  
He suddenly feels himself get tackled. Raising an eyebrow, he feels Lessien hugging him, sobbing loudly. He puts an arm around her and looks back at the lake, listening to her cry._

- - -

"That's all I got chance to tell her," Thomas finished. "The Death Eaters have always protected the truth from her – one of them overheard me telling her about you, and I was…punished." He twitched his shoulders, a faint echo of the painful burning running down his back. "I told her to run, so that she wouldn't see anything – they'll leave her alone, they have no reason to believe she'll do anything with the information."

Nessa sat still, frozen by what Thomas had told her – he knew Lessien…she really was alive!  
"Can I meet her?" she asked very softly. "I mean, without getting either of you into trouble…"  
Roman sat up and stared at Nessa – Thomas had practically admitted to being a Death Eater, and Nessa seemed totally unfazed by it.  
"Ness, you do understand what he's told you, don't you?" she asked, touching Nessa's shoulder. "Lessien's a Death Eater…_he_ is almost a Death Eater…"  
Nessa shrugged Roman's hand off, looking determinedly back at her friend.  
"What he has told me is that Lessien's alive, and still human enough to feel emotion," she responded, dark eyes hard.  
"Alright, fair enough – but what about _him_?"  
"I don't care!" Nessa flared at Roman, glaring at her. "What's your problem with him anyway? He's done nothing to you personally – _nothing_!"  
Roman stayed silent for a moment, an expression of pain flickering across her face so quickly it might have been imagined.  
"Yes, he has," she replied evenly, meeting Nessa's eyes, "you just haven't noticed."  
Climbing to her feet, she paused, merely looking at Nessa, and then turned on her heel, not really knowing where she was going, but so long as it was quiet and empty, she didn't care.  
Nessa stared after Roman, her eyes narrowing slightly and her fingers picking at the hem of her skirt.  
"Okay, so what did I just miss?" she mused quietly, a small frown crossing her face as she traced Roman's path with her eyes. Thomas decided to take it as a rhetorical question and sat there silently until Nessa turned her dark gaze to him thoughtfully.  
"_Am_ I missing something?" she repeated, watching him closely.  
"Er…not so far as I'm aware, love," he hedged, shrugging lightly. He had a vague idea what Roman was talking about, but he sure wasn't going to be the one to tell Nessa.  
"Right," she breathed softly and disbelievingly. Turning back to where she'd last seen Roman, she jumped slightly as she realised her friend had disappeared from view already.  
"So, um…can I meet Lessien, without getting anyone in trouble?" she asked, slightly absently, dragging her gaze back to Thomas.  
"I expect I can arrange something, yes," Thomas replied.  
"Good," she murmured, again sounding absent. Clearing thinking, her eyes strayed again over to the last spot she'd seen Roman standing.

- - -

Roman paced back and forth, driven by some unseen force to keep moving.  
"Damn, blast and confound it all," she exploded suddenly, expression somewhere between a scowl and a pout. "How can he-- ? And how come she-- ?"  
Striding energetically about the room, she continued to muse and mutter, pausing occasionally as she stumbled across what might have been an answer, but was always follow immediately by a shake of her head and a continuation of the pacing.  
'_You could always tell her._' The thought stumbled across her brain so suddenly that she literally skidded to a halt. "Holy Satanica, I could too," she muttered, sinking to the floor and pursing her lips thoughtfully. "But…should I?"  
Absently, she flicked her wand at a cushion, and watched blankly as it danced across the floor. "Should I, shouldn't I?" she murmured, tapping her fingers against the floor thoughtfully.

"Do you mind?" a voice said irritably, and Roman groaned, not wanting to look down. "Helloooo? You're kind of squashing me here…"  
Sighing, Roman shifted backwards slightly, lifted her hands from the floor, and looked down reluctantly – the face-in-the-wall thing from the Charms classroom: she should have known.  
"Why do you hassle me like this?" she asked resignedly, staring at the surprising expressive face in the floor.  
"Because your father asked me to watch over you," it replied succinctly, wriggling its nose slightly.  
"_Dad_ asked you that?" she repeated, mind working overtime.  
"I just said that, didn't I? Now, what's troubling you?"  
"I don't want to talk about it with you," she replied with dignity, sniffing slightly and turning her head to one side.  
"Sure you do," the face replied, its androgenous voice suddenly dropping an octave or two – it was hard to tell. Roman sat up straight, frowning slightly at the sudden change.  
"Come now, surely you can recognise this old voice by now?" he – for it was definitely male by this stage – asked, his deep, gravelly voice pleasantly resonating about the room.  
"Dad?" Roman asked, her eyes widening as she leant forwards to examine the face on the floor.  
He chuckled. "Of course, who else were you expecting?" he asked, grinning widely. "Nehemiah informed me that you seemed troubled, and I, of course, had to check on you."  
"Nehemiah? You mean that face thing _actually_ has a name?"  
"Naturally. But that's beside the point – what's the matter?"  
Roman sighed and settled backwards. "It's Nessa and the new boy – I presume…Nehemiah's told you all about him?"  
"Indeed – sounds like a right old b…"  
"_Anyway_, Ness doesn't realise…anything. About…me, and my…yeah."  
"Ah, yes, that would be awkward. You know the simplest solution, don't you?"  
Roman raised an eyebrow and looked interested. "I wasn't aware there _was_ a simple solution."  
"Of course there is – just kill the boy."  
"Dad," she replied with a sigh, "I might be the 'son' of Satan, but that doesn't mean I'm going to run around killing people."  
"Bugger," Satan said, and she could almost see him clicking his fingers. "Here I was hoping you'd changed," he continued, obviously teasing.  
"Dad, please – I could really do with your help here," Rome said softly, having smiled half-heartedly at his teasing.  
"I know, munchkin, I was just trying to lighten the atmosphere. Honestly, I can feel it from here, and you know I'm a bloody long way away. My only advice," he continued, obviously trying to lift his face from the floor, "is… - damnit, this it the first time I've ever wished I'd put the rest of Nehemiah on here," he grumbled, scowling ferociously and causing the dancing cushion to squeak and hide in terror. Giving up, he looked back up at Roman. "Anyway, my advice is to talk to Ness – the worst she can do is remain as your friend," he finished, a shrug written clearly at the end of his sentence.  
"But will she?" she asked Satan quietly, worry shining from her eyes. "What makes you think that she won't just run, run away from me and straight to Thomas?"  
"Munchkin, I haven't met the girl, but she's known you for, what, twelve years now. She won't just abandon you, she wouldn't."  
"I hope you're right, Dad," Roman sighed, resolving to talk to Nessa as soon as possible.  
"You'll be fine, Rome, I know it," Satan said, his voice slowly fading and morphing back up the registers. "I love you, 'son'."  
"I love you too, Dad," she replied, smiling slightly, before slipping back into her quiet thoughtfulness.

"So – did he help?" Nehemiah's unmistakeably cheerful voice rang out, the face carefully scrunching up, as though trying to rearrange itself slightly.  
"Yes, he did," Roman said absently, staring at the trap door. Abruptly, she rose to her feet and headed for it, her expression firm.  
"That's good, dear," came the reply as she slipped down into the passage below. "Darn it, why is it always so much more uncomfortable after _he's_ used it?!"  
Roman heard the frustrated cry as she closed the trap door. Smirking slightly to herself, she walked confidently down the pitch black passage, her mind made up.


	8. A what sort of charm!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hogwarts, even the damned lake is owned by the lovely J. K. Rowling, not me. For a change, I'm owning everyone, just to be different.

A/N:Now now, Thom and Rome, please behave yourselves when reviewing...I'm not breaking up an OoC fight ::Grins::

- - -

Striding down the corridor towards Transfiguration, Roman heard the unmistakable sounds of Nehemiah whittering away. Sighing, she turned back to face the Face, as it were. "Haven't you harassed me enough today already?" she asked him, sounding a little tired.  
"What? No, of course not – 'tis my job to follow you, remember?" Nehemiah responded cheerfully enough, apparently comfortable again. "Oh, that and I have a message to pass on from your Daddy. He remembered after you left, so he gave it to me and I said, 'Oh yes, your Great Ev…'"  
"Is there a point to this rambling?" Roman cut in, raising an eyebrow in slight amusement.  
"Oh…yes, of course there is. Anyway, 'Lou' has asked if you could kindly return home for a little while. He needs to have a talk to you, in his…ahem…study."  
Roman frowned slightly, and leant back against the nearest wall. "And did he have any suggestions as to how to handle Dumbledore so I can go?"  
Nehemiah snorted. "Rome, your father's no fool – it's all sorted. All you have to do is pack and leave."  
"Pack? Does he really think it's going to take that long?"  
"It's an expression, dear. Just grab a couple of things and be off, alright?"  
Roman sighed again, and gave Nehemiah a mock salute. "Yessir, right this minute!" Rolling her eyes, she changed directions and headed for the Slytherin Common Room, passing Thomas on the way.  
"You, porcupoppet!" she announced as she passed. "Stay right there 'till I come back down."  
Thomas smirked and folded his arms, considering moving, but decided not to – he was too intrigued, and it hardly mattered if he was late to Transfiguration.  
Up in her dorm, Roman quickly threw a few changes of clothes into a bag and glanced around, grabbing a scrap of parchment and quill, and scribbled a quick note, folding it and tucking it into an easy to reach pocket.  
'_Looks like that talk with Ness is going to have to wait,_' she thought, a little regretfully. Picking up the bag, she made her way back down and stopped in front of Thomas, pulling out the note and pressing in into his hand.  
"I want you to _swear_ that you'll give this to Nessa," she said firmly, glaring marginally. "I have to go away for a while, and I need you to give this to her, so that she knows where I am. If I come back and find you haven't given it to her, I'll do worse than send you to the in-_firm­_-ary…got it?!"  
Thomas raised his hands and grinned, tucking the note securely into his own pocket. "She'll get it, Malfoy's honour," he replied, still grinning.  
Roman raised an eyebrow and turned on her heel. "I wasn't aware Malfoys' had any honour," she muttered, adjusting the strap of the bag so that it sat more comfortably, and strolled off, waving a lazy hand over her shoulder to Thomas, and she disappeared around the corner.

- - -

Nessa strolled down the corridor, humming cheerfully to herself. Sixth Year definitely had some advantages over Fifth – spare blocks, for a start, and more interesting lessons. Although, her spare blocks over the past few days had been quite boring, since Roman had disappeared home. Thomas had, indeed, given her the note, along with an amused and detailed retelling of Roman's threats if he didn't.  
Making her way easily to the library, she walked up to Madam Pince, who wordlessly handed Nessa the same books she'd been pouring over for the last couple of weeks, books on the many variations of memory charms. Grinning at the librarian, she took the books and headed for the furthest corner of the library: it was always quietest there, courtesy of herself and Roman. Whenever they were in the library together, they always sat in the same corner, and people had learnt to avoid it for some reason, she wasn't sure why.  
Settling down into her favourite seat, she carefully put the books on the table, staring at their leather-bound spines for a moment before reaching for the one she'd been avoiding, the oldest and dustiest, the one most likely to fall apart as soon as she opened it. Gingerly, she moved it closest to her and opened it up, cringing slightly as she waited for the loud cracking noise of the spine splitting in half. Surprisingly, no such sound arose, and Nessa raised her eyebrows slightly, gently turning the pages that were, in actual fact, in better condition than they first appeared. Rubbing her nose lightly as it tingled, threatening to make her sneeze, she scanned the pages, looking for anything useful.  
Getting bored quickly – she had, after all, been researching the same topic for a while – Nessa started turning several pages at the same time, knowing it was no real way to research, and not caring. Reaching the final page, she sighed and rubbed her eyes, wondering if she should just give up for a while. Sighing again, she reopened her eyes and went to close the book, absently noticing that the last couple of pages had flipped back. She smiled faintly and grabbed for the other books when her eyes widened. Moving back to the oldest book, she frantically, but still carefully, turned for the last few pages, the words that she'd caught a glimpse of suddenly sinking in. Spotting it again, she began to read out-loud, very softly, almost unconsciously modernising the text.  
"_This version of a memory charm is very useful if you wish to affect the memory of an entire family, immediate and extended. Very few counter-charms and protective spells can stop this memory charm, although a few are known to exist._"  
She pouted momentarily, annoyed that they didn't go into detail about what sort of things could stop this memory charm, and then went back to reading.  
"_The charm works by altering the memory of anyone related to the person the wand is aimed at, by blood or marriage. The effects are believed to be permanent, although this is uncertain._"  
Closing the book for a moment, Nessa sat still thoughtfully, wondering why such a charm hadn't been mentioned in any of the other textbooks. Frowning lightly with thought, she rose and, collecting up the other books, went to Mdm. Pince, returning the others, and borrowing out the oldest. Walking a little absently, she made her way to Arness' office.

- - -

Tapping softly on the door-frame of the office, Nessa stepped inside without waiting for permission to do so – the door was open, no-one else was there, and she could tell that Arness was just waiting for a distraction. She grinned to herself as her older sister looked up from her work and smiled in evident relief.  
"Merlin, thank goodness you showed up, Ness," Arness said, dropping her quill onto the desk and stretching. "Now, at least, I have an excuse to stop. I never realised there was so much paperwork involved with teaching at Hogwarts."  
Nessa grinned and flopped into a chair, carefully putting the book on her sister's desk. "Hey, you're the one who wanted a job here, remember? Besides, you never even told any of us that you'd even applied, let alone got the job, so you're not getting any sympathy from me."  
Arness childishly poked her tongue out, and then eyed the open doorway a little guiltily. Rising, she walked over to the door, closing it, and then returned to her seat, settling down and reaching for the book.  
" '_Forget-me-not: A Selection of Memory Charms, Spells and Potions_' " she read out-loud, looking up at Nessa and raising an eyebrow. "In the first place, I didn't realise the school had a copy of this, I'd have thought it was too old, and in the second place…since when have you been interested in memory charms, specifically?"  
Nessa shifted in her seat slightly, crossing her legs. "Well, it's just that I remember Granny saying something about memory charms, something like the old ones were better, so I decided to try looking some up," she said, hoping she sounded convincing. "Now, there's this one at the back – it's marked – that seemed really interesting. I was wondering if you knew anything about it."  
Arness raised an eyebrow at her dark blonde sister, before opening to the marked page and quickly scanning the text. "Ah yes," she murmured softly, eyes darting across the page. "I remember this one, we did a sort of…case study on it at school, if you want to call it that – the Familial Memory Charm…" She closed the book and looked thoughtful for a minute, clearing trying to recall so extra details. Glancing over to Nessa with her piercing green eyes, so unlike Nessa's dark ones, she murmured, "So…what did you want to know?"  
Nessa sat up straighter, glad that Arness wasn't prying further into her sudden interest in memory charms. "Well, for starter's, it's only mentioned in this one book – why is that?"  
"I believe it's because after this book was published, there were many instances of the Familial Memory Charm being performed. People all over the world were suddenly forgetting who there family was, what they own, anything and everything. It was decided that it was far too dangerous for it to be released so publicly, and most copies of '_Forget-me-not_' were collected and burnt. A few had to be kept, of course, and they've been preserved carefully, but the Familial Memory Charm was never published again."  
Nessa smiled, amused at how automatically Arness had slipped into her lecturing voice. "Okay, that makes sense," she replied quickly, trying to ask all her questions before Arness lost her train of thought. "Now, what about the things that can stop it? It only says that they exist, not what they are."  
Arness looked intently at Nessa for a moment, before answering slowly. "I think – and don't hold me to this – that there are some Arabic charms and talismans that prevent it working, but I'm not sure. You'd be better off talking to Dad, or one of his colleges about it. You know he's worked in that area before."  
Nodding, Nessa opened her mouth to ask her final question, but Arness cut her off.  
"Look, kitten, I know there has to be a real reason you're interested in this. Would you please tell me what's going on?"  
Nessa grew silent, and her face went unusually pale. Arness, having been watching closely, noticed and slipped off her seat, clearly worried for her sister.  
"Whatever it is, you can tell me," she said softly, kneeling on the ground next to Nessa. "You're not talking to me the Professor – you're talking to me, as your older sister. If you're in trouble…just tell me."  
Nessa shook her head, her wavy hair tumbling forwards over her shoulders to veil her face. "I'm not in trouble," she said, her voice low. "I think…" She hesitated, closing her eyes and drawing a deep breath. It had been years since she'd last mentioned Lessien to any of her family – bringing her up again now could cause all sorts of trouble.  
"I think," Nessa continued carefully, "that the Familial Memory Charm was performed on our family."  
Arness blinked slowly, beginning to tap her nails together. "What makes you say that, kitten?"  
"It's because of…well, really not all of the family, it didn't affect me because I was in her room," Nessa babbled, everything falling into place in her mind. "You know how careful Mum and Dad were with us after the whole Potter thing…he must have put one of those talisman things in her room!"  
"Nessie, you're not making any sense," Arness said with a small, slightly nervous laugh. "_Whose_ room?"  
"Lessien's, of course! That's why I still remember her…" Nessa lifted her head and looked to Arness, her breath catching slightly at the unexpectedly blank expression on her sister's face – it was completely emotionless. "Arness?" she ventured softly.  
"There is no Lessien, you know that," Arness replied, her voice completely flat.  
"But don't you see? That's what I'm trying to _tell_ you – there _is_ a Lessien, you just don't remember her because of the memory charm!"  
A strange look passed over Arness' face, a slightly pained one, before blanking again. "How many times do we need to tell you? There is not, and never was, a Lessien!"  
"Just listen to me! I was four years old – you were eight. Dad had travelled to Denmark, I believe, just that morning. We were all woken up by Mum screaming at someone…Mere and I both climbed into your bed, 'coz we were scared. There was this strange light, and I remembered about Lessien and flew out to get her, but she wasn't in her cot. When I came back through, you and Mere when in your own beds, sleeping, and Mum was upstairs, smiling as though nothing had happened. _Don't you remember any of this now?!_"  
The unusual stillness of Arness' face slipped slightly as Nessa yelled at her, and the pained expression returned, confusion in her eyes, and she bit her lip. "It sounds so…"  
Nessa's hopes rose as Arness paused, growing incredibly still, but they were abruptly smashed as her sister rose to her feet.  
"It sounds totally ridiculous," Arness announced, anger clear on her face, though her eyes remained confused. "Get out of my office, and drop this stupidity! Honestly, I'd have thought that you'd have given up on this by now – there's no Lessien, nothing happened." Striding across the room, she flung the office door open, and pointed out into the corridor with a long, elegant finger. "When you start making some sense, come back and see me," she said coldly. "Until then – _get out!!_"  
Leaping from her seat, Nessa grabbed the book at the last moment and flew out of the office, tears streaming unchecked down her cheeks. Needing to talk to someone, she automatically began heading for the Slytherin Common Room, before remembering that Roman was away. Breathing hard and sobbing, she spun round and headed outside instead, the offending book clutched tightly against her as though it would protect her from the pain caused by her sister's harsh words.

Bursting out of the main doors into Hogwarts, she raced down the stairs and turned in the direction of the lake, moving swiftly for the weeping willow there. Nearing it, however, she began to slow down as she spotted a figure already sitting under it. Cursing loudly, she started to turn away when the person under the willow got up and poked their head out from between the branches.  
"Ness? What's wrong?" Thomas' now familiar voice called out to her, his brow furrowed in a light frown.  
Nessa froze, trying to work out what to do. "Uh…nothing, Thom, don't fret," she called over her shoulder to him, her voice sounding shaky even to her. Concentrating on slowing her breathing down, she jumped about a mile as Thomas gently rested his hand on her shoulder.  
"Love, you couldn't convince even the most gullible person that you were fine," he said, sliding his hand down from her shoulder to her hand, and tugging at it gently. "So naturally, I'm going to fret some."  
Sighing softly, Nessa allowed him to lead her back to the weeping willow, and she silently sat on the ground, absently placing the book on her lap. She stared at it, not looking at Thomas, and he sat down facing her, following her gaze down to the book and gently reaching out to turn it so he could see the title.  
"This is about Lessien, isn't it?" he asked quietly, reaching out to brush Nessa's hair back from her face. Sniffling, she looked up at him and nodded, tears dripping down her cheeks occasionally.  
"I…I think I know the charm that made everyone forget," she said softly. Grabbing the book, she tucked it under her arm and continued, "It was in here all along. I was asking Arness about it, and it was all going so well, then it just…" Gulping, Nessa looked away, closing her eyes as she began crying more. Not noticing Thomas shift closer, she pulled herself together and finished the story. "She told me some more about the charm, and I think I know why it didn't work on me. I started trying to explain things to her, and it was working for a bit, I think, but then…everything just, closed. I think the charm kicked in at double-strength or something, and she…she yelled at me," she murmured, tears still falling. "Arness has never yelled at me before," she whimpered, dropping her gaze to the ground under her feet.  
Thomas shifted forwards again, and gently wrapped Nessa into a hug, her head automatically finding his shoulder. "I know it's hard, love," he murmured, looking down at what he could see of her face, "but you'll manage, I know you will."  
Nessa lifted her head slightly and turned it so that it was facing him, before resting it back down on his shoulder, fitting snugly against his neck. "But why didn't that break the charm?" she muttered, her eyes closed. "Surely knowing about such a charm being on a person would have lifted it, but…it didn't…"  
"I'm no expert on charms, but I can guarantee that if a Death Eater cast it, he'd have thought of something like that. Don't stress yourself so – you'll think of something…"  
Nessa lifted her head again, and looked into Thomas' grey eyes. "Thank you," she murmured quietly. She smiled lightly as he raised an eyebrow questioningly, and added, "Thank you for listening, and reassuring, and…well…for not pushing me away, labelled as a nutcase."  
Thomas smiled and brushed back her hair again. "Just don't tell the other Slytherins about me," he murmured, clearly joking. "It wouldn't do to have them thinking I was nice…"  
Noticing that her head was tilted up slightly, angled towards him, he hesitated for a moment, and then leant forwards, gently pressing a kiss against her lips. Nessa froze, surprised by his actions, and then melted into his hold slightly, the book slowly drooping in her grasp. As her eyes closed, the book slid completely from her fingers and landed softly on her lap. She jumped and pulled away from Thomas, her cheeks swiftly turning pink.  
Grabbing the book, she scrabbled to her feet and moved swiftly for the edge of the weeping willow, pausing as she reached its gently curving branches. Looking back to Thomas, she smiled faintly and murmured, "Thank you," again, before slipping out of the weeping willow, heading for the castle to get some rest.

- - -


	9. Arrangements

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Although, I might own Rio - I'll have to ask her... And Roman's owning me, currently, and Thom...owns himself, yep.

A/N: A 'Thank You' to my only Roman for the headline further down. Ta, lovey .:Huggles:.

- - -

Thomas strode into the Great Hall for breakfast, his grey eyes first sweeping the Hufflepuff table, looking for Nessa, before turning to the Ravenclaw table, looking for a familiar girl. Spotting a head of short black hair, with red streaks, he smirked to himself and changed directions to head for the Ravenclaw girl.  
"Rio," he called as he drew near, "I've been looking for you."  
The 5th Year girl sat up straight quickly, and looked over at him, a bright smile on her lips. "Were you? That's very thoughtful of you."  
Thomas grinned and sat down on the bench, squeezing in between Rio and another Ravenclaw, a leg on either side of the wooden seat. "So, what you been up to?" he asked, flicking some blonde hair out of his eyes.  
Rio giggled faintly and toyed with her spoon, looking coyly at Thomas from one side. "Certainly nothing interesting," she replied, pouting slightly. "It's so _boring_, not having anyone as interesting as you around all the time."  
"Darl, of course it's boring," he informed her, leaning his elbow on the table and watching her, a faint smirk on his lips. "Surrounded by _them_ all the time…?" He shook his head sadly. "Not fun at all."  
"Well?" she demanded a little petulantly, crossing her arms and looking at him properly. "What are you going to do about it?"  
Thomas pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. "You, me – the lake, next Tuesday."  
Rio blinked rapidly for a moment, a disbelieving look crossing her features. "You mean…like a _date_?" she practically squeaked. Watching him shake his head, she sighed and pouted again. "I knew it – you're too mean…"  
"Darl, I'm not _that_ mean. Meet me by the lake next Tuesday – it's not a date, per say, just a meeting of friends."  
"You, Thomas Malfoy," she said, frowning slightly and poking him hard in the chest, "are the biggest tease I know."  
"So you won't be there, then?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.  
"Oh no, I'll be there. Don't think you'll get out of this that easily!" Poking him once more in the chest for good measure, Rio swung her bag over her shoulder, rose, and walked off. Thomas could almost hear the indignant sniff, not that she deigned to give one.  
"Now, see…why isn't it always that easy?" he muttered, ignoring the looks from the other Ravenclaws, and standing as well. Heading for the Slytherin table, he froze abruptly, looking out the window at the bird hovering there, apparently letting out a loud call, not that it could be heard in the busy and noisy Great Hall.  
"Damn it, not yet!" he growled, striding out of the Hall, and outside into the grounds, whistling a high, sharp note. The kite screeched a loud note in reply and swooped over to him, landing on his outstretched arm. Carefully, Thom reached over and unscrewed the top of the cylinder attached to the bird's leg, slipping out the piece of parchment inside. Beginning to scan it, he winced as the kite screeched again, and he tucked the note into his pocket momentarily. He reached across his body again, and ran a gentle finger down the bird's chest.  
"Thank you, Bijou," he said softly, stroking the kite still. "Off you go." He jerked his arm up carefully, and Bijou flew off, a shrill note piercing the air as it began to disappear into the forest.  
Thomas shook his head, a look of wry amusement on his face – why she couldn't just use an owl like everyone else… Slipping the note out of his pocket again, he quickly read it, a smile beginning to creep over his lips.  
"Excellent," he breathed, chuckling to himself as he folded the note carefully and put it away. Whistling cheerfully, he headed back inside, turning for the Great Hall – he had a certain someone to talk to.

- - -

"Ness!"  
Jumping slightly, Nessa looked up from her book at the Hufflepuff table and spotted Thomas making his way over to her. Smiling warmly at him, she closed her book and shifted over slightly, making more room for him, and shooting a quick smile at Merenwen, who was sitting across the table from her.  
"Do you happen to know Rio?" she asked him quickly, before he could say anything. Watching his expressions carefully, she smiled faintly. "Ravenclaw, 5th Year? Probably could have been in Slytherin or Ravenclaw…?"  
"Yes, I know her," Thomas replied carefully. "Why do you ask?"  
"Well, it's just she gave me the weirdest look before. No idea why either. Anyway, what were you going to say?"  
Thomas shifted slightly, looking vaguely uncomfortable, but he pulled out his best smile and leant forward to whisper in Nessa's ear. "I just got a letter from Lessien…"  
Her breath catching, Nessa leaned back to stare at him, examining him closely. "You're not even kidding, are you?"  
"No, of course I'm not," he replied, laughing slightly. Reaching into his pocket, he pressed the piece of parchment into Nessa's hand, gesturing to her to read it.  
Staring at him for a moment longer, she turned her gaze to the letter, well aware that Merenwen was looking at the pair of them with interest, all thoughts of breakfast forgotten. She swiftly read the letter, and then moved her gaze back to the top, re-reading it slowly.  
"She really wants to meet me," she breathed softly, a smile touching her lips again.

- - -

_"She really wants to meet me," Lessien murmurs, her light brown hair falling over her shoulders as she reads Thomas' letter again. She seems slightly bewildered as she drops the letter to the ground, and she rises to her feet to walk to the nearest window and stare out of it. Watching the breeze lightly move the trees outside, she smiles as she watches a familiar bird soar over the top of them and towards her window. Pulling it open, she holds an arm out and allows the red kite to land on her.  
"Been a long day's hunt, Bijou," she murmurs quietly, stroking the back of the kite's head. Moving to the other side of the room, she gently places Bijou on the perch made for it, her green eyes turning back to the window. "Why does she want to meet me? I'm a Death Eater, not even really a part of her family…" Sighing, she begins to wander aimlessly about the room, wrapping her arms about her thin, almost frail-looking form. Glancing at the clock, she frowns slightly – it's nearly time.  
She walks to her desk and pulls out a clean sheet of parchment, and carefully dips her quill into her favourite teal-coloured ink. Swiftly penning a reply, she blows on the ink, dusting some sand across the surface to dry it, and then carefully tips it off. Rolling it tightly, she absently lifts her arm up, feeling Bijou's weight settle onto it a few moments later.  
"This is for Thomas," she informs the red kite, slipping the letter into the round case on Bijou's leg. "You know where he is…"  
She walks to the window and jolts the kite off her arm, listening to its cry disappear into the cool night's air. Checking the time again, she sighs once more and changes into her pitch-black robes, tying up her hair carefully and pulling the deep hood up.  
"Some things must be done," she mutters, tucking her wand into one of the inner pockets and moving swiftly yet silently for the door. _

- - -

"Hey, Nessie, you should read this!" Mere's excited voice cut through Nessa's thoughts, and she jerked her attention to her younger sister, reaching across to take the proffered Daily Prophet from her.  
" '_Reporter Sneers at Ridiculous Incident_'?" Nessa read aloud, raising an eyebrow at her sister.  
Merenwen sighed good-naturedly and rolled her eyes. "The other page, silly."  
Nessa grinned over the top of the paper at her dark-haired sister, and said, "I didn't think it could have been that one, somehow…" She angled the newspaper appropriately, so that she could see the other page properly, and her eyes widened. Clearing her throat softly, she began to read out loud again.  
" 'A strange, and unexplainable, murder was committed last night at old Mrs. Mackenzie's house in Hogsmeade. The elderly lady's grandson had been visiting for the past few days, and when Mrs. Mackenzie went to wake the 21-yr-old male, she was shocked and horrified to find him lying completely still in bed, eyes open and face frozen in a look of utmost terror.' "  
She lifted her gaze from the paper, dropping it down onto the table. "Hogsmeade…" she breathed, her eyes wide.  
Thomas raised an eyebrow slightly. "That's a bit too close, don't you think?"  
"You're not wrong there," Nessa replied, impulsively leaning against him. "I mean… Merlin, you hear about things like that occasionally happening in London, not in Hogsmeade!"  
Putting his arm about Nessa to balance her, he smiled to himself briefly before nodding agreement. "London is a hell-hole for that sort of stuff. I wouldn't have thought it would happen just barely down the road."  
Nessa shivered slightly, and shifted closer to Thomas, resting her head on his shoulder. "Okay, that's it – enough talk of murders," she said firmly. Blinking, she realised that she'd completely forgotten about Lessien's note, and she picked it up again, lifting her head to look at Thomas and raising her eyebrows in a silent question.  
"I'll ask her if she can make it Friday," he responded quietly, understanding what she meant.  
"You'll be there too, won't you?" she asked softly, a touch of panic in her voice.  
"Of course I will, love. She's probably just as nervous as you, if not more so – just remember that she never used to think that she had a family, or, if she did, that they didn't care about her."  
Nessa nodded – that made sense. Glancing at the time, she pouted slightly and then sat up properly, picking up her bag.  
"What do you have now, Thom?" she asked him softly, rising to her feet.  
"Nothing but a spare block…"  
"Oh, good, you can walk me to Ancient Runes!"  
Grinning, she hauled him to his feet, and, shooting a glace and smile at Merenwen, led Thomas out of the Hall and towards her class.

- - -

Lessien glared fiercely at the door from her room. She knew, without even testing the handle, that it was locked – her carers were always very careful to follow their orders to the letter, always careful to avoid taking any of the blame. Snarling softly, she paced about the room for a moment, feeling like an animal trapped in a cage. She glanced at her desk, and moved towards it, quickly re-reading Thomas' note. Friday, at Hogwarts – she wasn't going to be let out soon enough to make it in time, not if she waited for _them_ to unlock the door.  
Almost cautiously, she looked over her shoulder at the door, before licking her lips lightly and shifting Thom's note to one side, staring at the other bit of parchment there. Her first letter from Nessa, from…family. Her face expressionless, she lifted up the parchment and carefully folded it, slipping it into her pocket. She stood still for a moment, her face growing determined, and she spun on her heel, walking to her wardrobe and flinging the door of it open. From the bottom of it, she dug out an old bag, slightly dusty but in one piece none-the-less. Throwing some clothing into it carelessly, she then walked back to the desk and collected up all the various notes from Thomas, putting them into the bag as well – if her carers decided to search her room while she was gone, she didn't want to leave anything to make them suspicious.  
Glancing at Bijou's empty perch, she paused then shrugged. The red kite was an intelligent bird, it'd be able to find her regardless of where she was. Opening the window, she peered outside – it was something her carers had never thought of, her climbing out the window. They considered her to be sufficiently 'broken', as she'd heard them word it, not to consider such a move. Snorting inelegantly to herself, she dropped the bag to the ground, and then dropped out of the window, crouching carefully as she landed. Chuckling softly, she slung the bag over her shoulder and quietly crept off, silently thanking her carers for conveniently placing her in a first-floor bedroom. If she was lucky, she'd make it to Hogwarts in time for meeting Nessa. If not… she twitched her shoulders slightly, an unconscious echoing of her older sister. There was no 'if not' – she _was _going to make it.

- - -


	10. Many Entrances

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hogwarts, et cetera and so forth is owned by J.K. Rowling, not me, rahter unfortunately. I own Nessa (funny that), and just for a change, I'm going to own the others, too - Rome, Thom, Rio... although those three technically created their own characters, and I'm merely using them with permission, so they're not really mine, but you should get what I mean... and I'm rambling, I should stop that...

A/N: Thelonious isn't based on a real person, or even someone else's character, so far as I know, but I did get inspiration for the name from a character at The Guild - isn't it just the funkiest name!

* * *

"You need to get out more, pet," a voice called across the library to Nessa.  
Blinking rapidly, somewhat surprised, Nessa grinned and dropped her book to the floor, rising as she waited for the approaching figure to get closer. "She could kill you with that glare, you know," she said after a moment, nodding in the direction of the dagger-glaring librarian.  
"Pet, I ain't that easily killed," Roman replied easily, grinning and sending a jaunty wave to Madam Pince.  
"I know that, but perhaps you should tell her one day." Waving politely at the librarian, Nessa accompanied it with a slightly cheeky grin before turning her gaze back to Roman. "You were gone longer than I expected," she commented, a touch of reproach tinting her tone.  
"Aww, did Nessie get bored?" Roman asked teasingly, clearly in good spirits. She watched the girl twitch her eyebrows slightly, and quickly gave her a hug. "Sorry pet, I shouldn't be teasing yet – too early in the morning." She could almost feel Nessa's eyebrows raising again, and squeezed her lightly. "You know what I mean…"  
Nessa relaxed slightly, and wrapped her arms about Roman, laughing softly. "Yes, I do – sorry, I shouldn't be so temperamental. It's good to have you back, though. I never realised just how… dull it could be around here."  
Roman chuckled, and let go, judging Nessa to be relatively back to normal, and ready for some more teasing. "Even with having porcupoppet…I mean, Thomas, around?"  
Nessa narrowed her eyes slightly, but there was a smile touching her lips, an amused one. "Yes, even with Thomas around," she replied, feeling a slight heat rising in her cheeks. Clearing her throat softly, she murmured, "Ah…yah, anyway…" and carefully turned around to pick her book up from the floor.  
Roman raised her own eyebrows slightly, watching Nessa carefully, and was strongly reminded that she needed to have a talk with the shorter girl.  
"Pet, do you have time for a…little chat?" she asked delicately, adjusting her top hat slightly.  
Nessa slowed in her movements, obviously having heard Roman's question, but took her time in replying, not certain what to expect. Carefully, she tucked the book into her bag, and slung it over her shoulder. "I have nothing planned," she replied cautiously. Recently, Nessa had become much more wary of 'little chats', certainly more than she had been even six months ago. So little good seemed to come out of them, at least in her experience.  
Roman recognised Nessa's reluctance, and smiled a little wryly. "I know, I know. Chat's are bad, scary, et cetera, but I really think we should have one."  
Nessa twitched her nose slightly, but nodded, shrugging lightly at the same time. "If you want one, Rome, okay. Where do you want to go?"  
"In here's fine," she replied, taking Nessa's hand and guiding her further into the library, right away from the few other students, and settled down fairly close to the Restricted section.  
Drawing a breath, Nessa sat down opposite Roman, dropping her bag at her feet, and forcing herself to be calm. If Roman wanted a talk, then they could have one, calmly and sensibly. She watched silently as the Slytherin girl seemed to gather her thoughts, knowing better than to interrupt.  
"I know you must be wondering why I dislike Thomas so much," Roman began softly.  
"It has been hovering at the back of my brain, yes."  
"Mainly…it's because he's taking you away from me. All he had to do was flash his perfect smile, and you were just…gone. And I have to admit, I'm jealous."  
"Jealous?" Nessa repeated, an eyebrow raising slightly.  
Roman nodded. "I'm jealous of him because of the way he's captured your attention. I'm jealous of the way he can touch you without you slapping him. And…I'm jealous of the fact that you obviously return his affection."  
"Roman, why are you?" Nessa began, but Roman continued talking.  
"He and I do have something in common – our feelings for you, Ness. I kinda…do have feelings for you, more than just friendly feelings. That's the main reason why Thomas annoys me so completely – he can be open with the way he feels about you, and not have to worry. He can touch you, hug you, even kiss you, and the most you do is blush and giggle. I'm not sure you can even begin to imagine how that is for me. To see him able to do the things…" Roman trailed off, her expression slightly pained and sad.  
"Rome, why didn't you tell me this before?" Nessa asked softly, gently touching the taller girl's arm. "You've never had much difficulty talking to me about things before…"  
Roman laughed, a vaguely regretful sound. "Pet, this isn't exactly an easily thing, for me to tell or for you to hear. I couldn't exactly drop it on you in the middle of Potions."  
"Alright, that's true enough," Nessa replied with a small chuckle. Hesitating for a moment, she then continued, "Since we're being honest and all, I have to admit – I've been wondering if you did feel like that. It mightn't seem all that obvious," she explained, "but I can pick up on hints occasionally."  
Roman blinked and stared at her friend, who was sitting there with a soft smile touching her lips.  
"You're not going to run? You're not going to freak out and put a huge distance between us?"  
"It _will_ take some getting used to," Nessa admitted with a small shrug of her shoulders, "now that I know for certain, but I'm not just going to push you away. We've known each other too long for that."  
"Dad was right," Roman murmured absently, slightly surprised.  
Nessa's eyebrows shot up. "You talked to your _father_ about this?"  
"Well, it wasn't exactly planned – he just sort of…showed up."  
"You have the weirdest family, Roman de la Croix," Nessa laughed, shaking her head. Sobering slightly, she looked up at her friend. "You going to be okay?" she asked softly.  
"Of course I will," Roman replied, slightly flippantly, waving a hand expressively. Catching Nessa's half-raised eyebrows, she smiled crookedly and nodded. "I'll be fine, I do mean that."  
Looking intently at Roman for a moment, Nessa nodded slowly and then stood up, slinging her bag onto her shoulder again. "Sorry to dash out on you like this," she murmured softly, glancing at the time, "but I'm meeting…" She paused, her eyes widening slightly.  
"…Thomas," Roman finished, managing to keep most of the bitterness out of her voice.  
"In a way, but not really, at the same time," she replied, looking vaguely confused. Expression clearing, she looked down at Roman. "I forgot that you wouldn't know – Thom's organised for Lessien and me to meet, today…" A slightly nervous expression passed over her face, and she slumped back into the chair, gazing across to the other seat. "What if she doesn't like me?"  
Roman gave a soft laugh. "Pet, I dare to you name one person in this school that doesn't like you," she said with a small smile, conveniently ignoring Nessa's disbelieving snort. "If she doesn't like you, I'll be very surprised. Just remember, you're family, even if you haven't seen each other for years."  
"I know," Nessa breathed, closing her eyes briefly and letting out a slow breath. Climbing to her feet again, she smiled at Roman and stooped to give her a gentle hug. "I'll come see you later, alright?" she half-asked.  
"Of course – you know the places I'll be."  
Nodding, Nessa hugged the taller girl again, reassurance for both herself and Roman, and drawing another deep breath and releasing it slowing. Picking up her bag, she waved at her friend, and headed off, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

* * *

"Nessa, love, just breathe and calm down," Thomas suggested, watching the dark blonde girl with some amusement. "She'll be here, I promise it."  
"Uh-huh, I know," Nessa said, nodding rapidly and continuing to walk around in small, quick circles. "She'll be here, and all lovely-like, and we'll talk and have tea, and…and…"  
Laughing, Thomas rose from his seat on the ground and caught Nessa's hand, stepping in front of her at the same time. Blinking, she looked up at him wide-eyed.  
"You're stressing and rambling," Thomas informed her softly, slipping an arm about her waist. "Just relax – stressing won't bring Lessien here any faster."  
Nessa opened her mouth, clearly about to argue with him, and then sighed, pulling a face at him as he raised his eyebrows.  
"I know, Thom," she said instead, bracing herself against him and neatly tucking her head under his chin. "But you can't really blame me for being nervous. She won't even remember me from…before."  
"It'll be fine," Thomas repeated, running his hands lightly across her back to try and calm her. Hearing a soft footfall somewhere to his left, he smiled and gently tapped his fingers on the small of her back. "That's probably her now," he said, and turned his head to the left. The greeting he'd planned died on his lips, and he made a small choking noise.  
Frowning lightly up at Thomas, Nessa decided to leave her question unasked and looked in the same direction, a little nervously.  
"Oh… hi, Rio," she said, sounding disappointed, and sighed lightly.  
"Expecting someone else, were you?" the Ravenclaw asked in return, folding her arms and glaring at them.  
A little confused as to why Thomas was suddenly so quite, Nessa glanced up at him before answering. "As a matter of fact, we were," she replied cautiously, thrown by the other girl's bitter tone.  
Rio turned her hard gaze to Thomas, raising a delicate eyebrow. "And what about our da-… meeting?"  
Nessa twisted 'round to look up at Thomas so fast that she slightly pulled a muscle in her neck. Wincing, she merely raised her eyebrow in an unconscious echo of Rio's expression.  
Thomas made a tiny, pressured noise at the back of his throat, and managed to summon a tight smile for the two girls. He thought hard for a moment and then reluctantly let go of Nessa so that he could stride over to Rio, grasp her arm and pull her a short distance away.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed at her, keeping a tight hold on her wrist.  
"I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Malfoy," she responded coldly, ust barely keeping her voice down. "You _asked_ me to meet you here, or did you just conveniently forget about that!"  
Thomas froze and swiftly thought back to their conversation in the Great Hall. "You idiot," he groaned, closing his eyes briefly at the mistake she'd made. "I said Tuesday, not today! In case you haven't noticed, today is Friday…!"  
Her cheeks turned a bright shade of red, but Rio merely shook her head emphatically and said, "Fine, forget about it," before attempting to pull her wrist free of his grasp.  
Glaring back at her just as fiercely, he finally let her go. "Gladly," he replied coolly, grey eyes echoing his statement. "I was just toying with you anyway." Turning his back on her, he walked back to Nessa.  
"We were supposed to meet earlier in the week – she needed help with Potions," he explained easily, although his gaze slipped from Nessa's slightly. "She got the day wrong," he added with a small shrug.  
Folding her arms loosely, Nessa raised her eyebrows and looked at Thomas silently, her dark eyes catching his gaze and holding it firmly.  
"Alright, alright, she didn't need help with Potions," he admitted with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "We'd organised to meet here – it wasn't a date," he added hurriedly, raising his hands defensively against Nessa's slightly accusing gaze. "She was bored, and-… oh, forget it. You won't believe me anyway."  
Nessa watched as he ran a hand through his hair again, this time slightly frustrated, and carefully kept her expression the same for a moment as he turned away. She let him mutter to himself for a few minutes, watching as he paced away from her slightly, before walking up to him and resting her fingertips lightly against his lips to stop his muttering.  
"Just forget about it," she breathed softly, leaving her hand against his lips until she'd finished speaking. "You have every right to meet whoever you want whenever you want – _I_ have no right to try and stop you. Let it go, and make up with Rio later – it'll be fine."  
Reaching up, Thomas caught Nessa's hand in his own and moved it slightly, pressing a light kiss into her palm before lifting it away. "I thought I was going to have an angry Nessa on my hands for a moment there," he admitted, laughing lightly as she raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You have no idea how scary you are when you're mad, do you?" he asked, amused.  
"Thom, I don't think I could be scary if my life depended on it," she replied honestly, tugging her hand out of his to hit his arm lightly. "Stop patronising me," she added, grinning up at him.  
"Ah, love, I wouldn't patronise you… too scary." Laughing, he ducked out of the way as Nessa took another teasing swipe at him, and he growled at her softly, raising an eyebrow as she froze.  
"You just growled... literally growled," she breathed, her eyes wide and her breathing slightly faster.  
Thomas shrugged, a little bemused at her reaction. "Yeah, I that occasionally," he replied, his eyebrow lowering slightly. "My mother told me once that I had to be part-wolf to make a noise like that."  
"Well, I certainly agree with her – that didn't even sound natural!" Nessa said, crossing her arms and pouting.  
"Aw, did I scare poor Nessie?" he teased, walking in a wide circle around her before darting forwards and growling softly into her ear.  
"Stop it!" she squeak, spinning around, before freezing just as quickly, her hand only an inch away from his cheek. Laughing a little sheepishly, she dropped her hand back down to her side. "Talk about your unconscious reaction," she muttered, lowering her eyes briefly.  
"Feisty," Thomas commented approvingly, grinning at her and tapping her nose lightly. "Now, feisty's good… angry is scary, but kinda good, too," he added, slipping an arm about her waist.  
"How on Earth do you figure angry to be good?" Nessa asked, lifting an eyebrow in confusion.

"Believe me, knowing how twisted that boy is, I wouldn't suggest you ask," a new voice chimed in, its light, lilting sound filling the area they were standing in.  
Nessa froze – she didn't recognise that voice at all, which could only mean… Slowly, she turned around in a circle, eyes sweeping the clearing, and stopped as she saw the figure a short distance away. Her mouth going dry, Nessa stared at the female, taking in her appearance swiftly – the girl's shoulder-length, straight brown hair, her hazel eyes, more like green flecked with brown than the other way around, and the way she held herself so confidently. Swallowing hard, Nessa took a small step forward, and attempted a smile.  
"I definitely have to agree with you on that," she replied cautiously and softly, uncertain where to begin. Her brow wrinkling, she shot a slightly helpless look at Thomas.  
Taking his cue, he stepped forward, and rested his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "Nessa, meet Lessien. Lessien, Nessa," he said softly, eyes flicking swiftly between the two.  
Nessa bit her lip lightly and looked across the clearing again, at the girl who was, had been, and in some ways, still was her sister.  
"So… we finally get to meet," Lessien murmured, her hazel eyes firmly fixed on Nessa. She hesitated, took a step forward, and then hesitated again. It wouldn't be right to hug this girl, this person would was apparently her older sister. She was who she was, and she wasn't a tactile person most times.  
At Thomas' whispered suggestion and gentle push, Nessa stumbled forwards a couple of steps, and held out her arms to Lessien, not wanting to push her. Lessien blinked and frowned lightly, before taking a final step and bringing herself within arms' reach of Nessa, who folded her arms gently about the girl who was younger than her, but nearly the same height.  
"I'm sorry," she murmured in Lessien's ear, tears filling her eyes. "I tried, I tried so hard…"  
Feeling the dampness on her shoulder, Lessien put her arms about Nessa, patting her back awkwardly.  
"I know, Thom's told me," she replied a little stiffly, not knowing how to react. Raising her gaze slightly, she stiffened even more as she caught sight of the red kite circling overhead, screeching a long note. Hurriedly, she pulled away from Nessa and moved towards the trees again.  
"I've got to go," she said urgently, eyes flicking about rapidly as though looking for an exit, "something's…"

"Wrong, were you going to say, Lessien?"  
Eyes wide, Lessien froze at the familiar voice of the man who was griping her shoulder tightly. "Thelonious," she muttered through gritted teeth, hating him even more.  
Thelonious smiled, his eyes not reflecting his smooth grin. "Forgive me, my dear, but I don't believe we've been formally introduced," he said graciously to Nessa.  
"We don't need introductions," Nessa cut in sharply, her face slowly draining of colour as more figures moved out of the trees. Swallowing nervously, she shifted a little closer to Thomas for comfort, and then lifted her chin, trying to meet Thelonious' cold gaze. "I've seen you before – you're the one who made Lessien a full Death Eater..."

* * *


	11. And so the plot continues

_A/N: This is probably a bit shorter than my other chapters, but I thought it had been too long since I last updated, and basically typed this out in a night._

**Disclaimer: Nessa, Lessien and Thelonious are my own creations. The world of Harry Potter (inc. the Death Eaters) doesn't belong to me - which just takes all the fun out of life .:Pouts:.**

* * *

Nessa trailed along behind Thelonious, trying to keep as much distance between them as she possibly could. As much as she hated to admit it, Thelonious scared her in some way, and she'd had no choice but to obey him as he ordered them to follow him out of the clearing. Absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't notice that he'd stopped walking, and promptly bumped into Lessien's back. She touched the other girl's shoulder lightly in apology, and then peered ahead trying to see why they had stopped.  
"Can you hear what he's saying?" she murmured to Lessien, watching as Thelonious spoke to another Death Eater.  
"Nope, don't care either," Lessien replied curtly, her eyes fixed on Thelonious despite her apparent disinterest. She glanced over her shoulder at Nessa and raised an eyebrow, mouth twisted to one side in a wry smirk. "They're probably just debating the best way to kill us off, anyway."

"Hardly, my dear," Thelonious interjected smoothly, gliding over to where the two girls were talking. "We merely believe that it would be better for us all if your darling older sister was blind-folded…"  
"So you admit it – Nessa really is my family!" Lessien demanded, her jaw setting and expression hardening. "You knew all along, and you never _once_ told me!"  
"What was the point? You never cared before, so what makes you care now?"  
"I care!" Lessien yelled, letting all her anger and bitterness towards the man fill her voice. "I've always cared! What part of your deluded mind even _made_ you believe that I could ever be happy with those… people, although I hesitate to use the word to describe them, especially when they made it so clear that I was in no way their daughter, and as such, would never treat me as one? Yet you honestly believed that I never, even once, wondered who my real family was, if they'd care for me?" She fixed Thelonious with a withering glare, her hazel eyes even stonier than his. "You're even stupider than I thought you were," she whispered coldly.

Nessa watched, frozen by Lessien's outburst, as Thelonious' hand lashed out and connected solidly with the girl's cheek, knocking her to the ground. The sound of Lessien hitting the earth shook Nessa out of her shock, and she moved swiftly to kneel in front and beside Lessien, using her own body to shield her sister from the kick Thelonious had aimed at the younger girl. Wincing, she bit down on her lip hard to stop from yelling out as the man's shoe connected solidly with her ribs, and she blinked rapidly, clearing the tears from her eyes before anyone could notice. It wouldn't do to seem weak in front of this group of Death Eaters – Merlin only knew what they'd do.  
Feeling rough hands grasp her collar, Nessa quickly scrambled to her feet, and was pulled around to find herself facing Thelonious' gaze.  
"Such an act of protection for someone you don't even know properly," he commented, sounding genuinely curious.  
"She's family," Nessa replied coolly, not appreciating the grip he had on her. "I protect friends and family as best I can."  
Thelonious snorted and let go of her, ignoring Lessien and beginning to walk away. "It's pathetic, loyalty like that."  
"Loyalty is a fair better trait than cruelty," Nessa shot back, holding her hand out to her sister and helping the girl to her feet. Noticing the sudden tension in Lessien, she wondered whether it had been wise to react to Thelonious at all, and risked a glance in his direction. The man appeared to be frozen in mid-step, and she bit her lip again as he suddenly spun on his heel and gave her an appraising look.  
"Put this on the older Meneldur," he merely said, shoving a piece of cloth into a nearby Death Eater's hand, and turned away, heading off into the forest once more, no doubt trusting that they would all follow in time.

Intercepting the Death Eater, Lessien jerked the cloth out of his hands with a glare and turned to face Nessa, walking forwards and carefully placing the makeshift blindfold about Nessa's eyes.  
"It's better I do it than _him_," she explained, half-apologising as she tied the two ends together. "He'd probably manage to take your eyes out if I let him put this on you."  
"It's alright, I understand," Nessa said, a little nervous at having to walk through the forest, for all intents and purposes, blind. "I thought I was in trouble for a minute there, with Thelonious."  
"I thought you were, too," Lessien replied bluntly, checking that the blindfold wouldn't fall off. "I suspect if it had been anyone else… well, never mind that." She gestured curtly for Thomas to stand on the other side of Nessa, and together they began to guide her forwards.  
Walking in silence for a moment, it suddenly occurred to Nessa that of the three of them, she was the only prisoner, in essence. In a way, it made sense, she reasoned – Lessien was a Death Eater already, and Thomas was going to be one. She was the only one that had no real link with the Death Eater group, and of course they were going to be more cautious with her.

"Lessien?" Nessa began softly, conscious of the girl's arm linked through her own. "Have you ever wished that you could have gone to Hogwarts?" She felt a slight hesitation in Lessien's footsteps before hearing the girl's voice answering her.  
"Sometimes… in a way. I never really thought about it much until I met Thom, but then I just started hearing things about it, all the friends he'd made. I guess… I wish I could have had that opportunity."  
Nessa blinked, slightly surprised at her sister's honest answer. It wasn't that she'd been expecting an evasion, per say, but she certainly hadn't been expecting that sort of response.  
"Maybe," Nessa began cautiously, "maybe if everything works out alright, you'll get the chance."  
"Yeah… maybe," Lessien replied, sounding disbelieving, and she let out a tiny snort. "Although, I can't see how this could possibly work out alright," she added, the muscles in her jaw twitching slightly, the only outward sign of worry that she gave.  
"Lessien, you don't know Ness," Thomas chimed in suddenly, and Nessa jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. "If she's determined – and you look at her, she is – to get out of this alright, then that's what'll happen."  
Lessien shrugged, her shoulder brushing against Nessa's. "Maybe you're right," she said finally, sounding only a little less doubtful.

"Less talk, please," Thelonious called, his clear, cultured voice travelling back to the three with very little effort. "If you don't mind, we have somewhere to be.  
Hearing a small noise from both Lessien and Thomas, Nessa turned her head inquiringly between them. "What is it? Where are we?"  
"Thestrals," Thomas replied softly, sliding his hand about Nessa's waist to balance her better as they prepared to lift her onto one of the creatures. "They're always around this part… favourite transport, you know."  
Blindly grasping hold of… something, Nessa twitched her shoulder's lightly, feeling exposed and awkward. Hearing only hushed conversations, and nothing clear, she started wondering if she was going to be expected to ride the thestral on her own, when another body slipped behind her. She relaxed, assuming it was Thomas – the person was far too tall to be Lessien.  
"Everyone settled?" Thelonious asked, although it was closer to a demand than a question, and Nessa jumped, his voice from directly behind her. She tensed, quickly realising that it was Thelonious behind her, and not Thomas. Rapidly feeling even less safe than she had before, she shifted forward as much as she could without the man noticing.  
"Good. We've wasted enough time this evening." Thelonious gestured, and suddenly they were lifting up into the air, moving swiftly.  
Nessa felt Thelonious put his arms about her waist, and she shivered, wondering if he was getting some perverse sort of pleasure out of it.  
"Cold, my dear?" he asked, tone slightly mocking. "Never mind, we'll get there soon enough. In the meantime, I'd suggest you don't let go."  
She gritted her teeth, her hand itching even more to slap him, but for the sake of keeping her balance, she restrained herself.  
"You're too considerate," she managed to force out between her teeth, her voice laced with heavy sarcasm.  
"I think only of my beautiful guest," he replied smoothly and just as sarcastically, and Nessa shivered again, wishing more than anything that he'd let her go. "You may as well get some sleep," he advised, lifting one hand from her waist to make a random gesture. "You'll need your energy."  
Telling herself that sleep was the last thing she needed, Nessa's eyes slid closed despite her best efforts to keep them open, seemingly unable to resist the command of Thelonious. '_I can't sleep_,' she thought desperately, clenching a hand reflexively in an attempt to keep from falling asleep. '_I just can't! It's not safe…_' Slowly, one-by-one, her muscles relaxed, her hand stilled, and her breathing evened out, and Nessa slipped into a deep sleep, so against her own wishes and so deep that it could easily have been closer to unconsciousness than true sleep.

* * *

She stirred slightly, vaguely aware of gentle arms lifting her down from where she'd been sleeping, and carrying her to somewhere else.  
"Just put her in here," a deep voice told the person carrying her. "She won't wake fully until tomorrow morning at the earliest, more likely the evening."  
"I don't see that it was necessary to put her to sleep in the first place," a voice grated in reply, and her sleep mind named that voice Thomas.  
"Don't be any more naïve than you have to be, William's son," the cold voice said harshly, obviously aimed at Thomas. "The blindfold was never enough, she was too curious. Now just put her in here – yes, there's a bed – and go to the main hall. A certain someone needs to have a few words with you."

Soft pillows met gently with her head, and the warm arms that had been cradling her slowly let her go. She rolled onto her side, making a soft whimper of protest as her only comfort disappeared.  
"Just sleep, Ness," Thomas whispered, lightly touching her cheek. "I'll come back as soon as I can."  
She made another soft noise, this time one of agreement, and shifted on the bed, finding a comfortable position. Letting out her breath slowly, she relaxed, the noises around her receding into a numbing silence as she slowly drifted back to sleep.

* * *


	12. Thestrals

_A/N: Mm-hm, another update. No idea if it took me longer than last time, but considering I did most of this last night, I feel I can officially say that I'm proud of myself (even if nobody else is j/k). Oh, and Roman hunny... I promise you're coming back into the story really soon. But then, if you remember some of our conversations from ages ago, you'd have probably worked that out yourself_

**Disclaimer: The universe of Harry Potter isn't mine... which really sucks, but such is life. Nessa, Lessien and Thelonious are the creations of my own deluded mind, whereas Roman and Thomas are the creations of two other, yet equally deluded minds. So now you know.  
**

* * *

A bright light shining across her face brought Nessa back to consciousness far earlier than she would have liked, and she groaned, burying her face deeper into the pillow. A dull but continuous throbbing in her right side kept her from falling back asleep, however, and she blearily forced her eyes open, noticing that her shoulders muscles were hurting, yet her arms and hands were nearly numb. Clearing her throat, she shifted to slide her arms under her, trying to release the tension in them, before discovering that they were tied firmly together behind her back. Knowing she usually slept on her stomach, she growled, instantly realising that she'd just made it easier for them to tie her up.  
"Bastards!" she swore violently as she turned her head in the direction of the door, watching it with a baleful gaze, waiting for the next person to enter the room. Squinting against the light that somehow seemed to be worse facing the door, she focused on trying to clear her mind, feeling unusually groggy. Starting to worry slightly about the lack of feeling in her fingers, she tried to flex them and work out the numbness, but she couldn't even tell if they were moving or not. She twisted slightly, getting more frustrated at not being able to move properly, and then froze, hearing a key turning in the lock of the door. Not wanting to be lying in such a vulnerable position in case it was someone like Thelonious, Nessa took a deep breath and managed to roll herself onto her side, wincing as her side and shoulders gave a sharp throb in protest of her movements. The door opened, and she immediately closed her eyes against the even brighter light – was it daylight or something else, she wondered.

"Ness?" Thomas' voice called out softly. "Are you awake?"  
"Yes, and I wish I wasn't," she grated back in reply, cracking her eyes open slightly to squint across the room at the boy. "Who the _hell_ decided to tie me up?" she demanded.  
Pulling a face, Thomas slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. "It wasn't my idea, that's for sure," he defended himself, walking over to Nessa and sitting on the end of the bed. "Like everything else, it was Thelonious' – he's paranoid, I swear."  
"That's lovely to know and all, Thom, but could you untie me, damnit!"  
Mentally slapping himself for not having thought of it first, Thomas stood up as Nessa twisted back onto her stomach, and gently started to untie the coarse rope tied about her wrists.  
"You know that you'll just have to be tied up again later tonight, don't you?" he said softly, his hair falling forward to hide his face.  
"I did sort of assume that," Nessa replied dryly, her voice slightly muffled from the pillow. "Do you know what's going to happen?"  
"No idea. Nobody's talking to me – hell, I'm barely able to walk about freely. Half of them look like they're ready to curse me on the spot."  
Nessa gasped as the rope feel free from her wrists and the blood started flowing back into her numb fingers, burning slightly as it did. Groaning slightly at the added pain, she gingerly rolled herself over onto her back and then sat up, face pale.  
Reaching out, Thom took her hands in his own and gently started massaging them, still not looking at her.

"Thom."  
No answer.  
"Thomas Malfoy," Nessa began sternly, her various aches and pains making her more abrupt than usual, "it's quite clear to me that something's the matter. Now, either you tell me or you don't, but I'd much prefer to know what's going on."  
"I've heard rumours," he stated quietly, his hands stilling in their movements, and he looked over to the door briefly before finally meeting Nessa's gaze. "All of them about tonight – some people think Thelonious is going to kill Lessien, others me. And others… think he'll kill you. I don't know which is more likely, but the problem is… all the rumours involve someone's death, and I don't like that one bit."  
"Thom, they're only rumours. It's not that likely to happen, surely…"  
His own gaze darkening, Thomas looked at Nessa solemnly, and she swallowed, half-regretting that she'd ever asked.  
"It's going to, isn't it?" she whispered hoarsely, her hands beginning to shake fiercely. "Someone's going to die?"  
"Try not to think about it, love," Thom advised, and even his normally pale skin seemed paler. "Nightfall is still a few hours away, and they won't come for any of us until then."

Feeling dizzy, Nessa laid back down against the pillows and curled up slightly, too involved in her thoughts to notice her body aching. Absently noticing Thomas stand up, she looked up at him, her eyes wide, seemingly frightened. His expression softening, he stooped and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips, feeling the tension in her.  
"I know you probably won't, but try to get some more sleep," he murmured, touching his hand to her cheek. "You've been through a lot, and I think you'll need your strength tonight."  
Something in his tone made Nessa examine him more closely, and her hand darted out to catch his wrist as he began to move away.  
"You're planning something, aren't you?"  
"Try to get some more sleep," Thomas repeated firmly, his expression carefully blank. Pulling his wrist out of her grasp, he left the building, a thick and heavy emptiness taking his place.

Shivering, Nessa tucked herself under the blanket on the bed and stared at the closed door, listening as the lock fell into place once more. The silence beginning to press down on her, tears crept unbidden to her eyes, and she let out a quiet sob, not knowing that Thomas was leaning against the outside of the door. Hearing the soft noise through the wooden door, his face tightened in an almost identical pain, and he sank to the ground, deciding to wait there until somebody came to fetch them.

* * *

Thomas watched as Nessa's unresisting body was flung to the grassy ground, just barely managing to keep a hold on his emotionless mask. Night had fallen swifter than he'd expected it to, and he'd been unceremoniously hauled to his feet and pushed in the direction of the house he stayed in occasionally, with the orders to get changed into his robes. Unable to argue, he had done as he'd been told, and showed up at the clearing not long before Thelonious appeared, a sleepy and frightened Nessa being dragged behind him by two of the larger brutes in the Death Eaters.

Nessa struggled to stand up, her drowsy mind not fully comprehending what was going on. When she failed to stand, she managed to kneel instead, tear beginning to pour silently down her cheeks as she guessed what was happening. Dropping her head, she stared at the ground, her shoulders slumped and her hands limp behind her back, despite the coarse rope cutting once more into her wrists.

A dark-robed figure stepped forward, his wand aimed directly at Nessa.  
"Well, Miss Meneldur," Thelonious said, his deep polished voice smooth and polite, "it seems we managed to catch up with you after all, despite everyone's efforts to keep you safe. Is there anything you wish to say?"  
Nessa raised her head, staring at the man with her reddened eyes.  
"What is there to say?" she asked quietly, just loud enough for her voice to travel to all in the circle surrounding her. "You may have her at the moment, but I know she won't stay with you forever."  
Thelonious laughed, his booming voice resonating throughout the clearing.  
"I think not, my dear," he replied, meeting her gaze with his cold eyes. "You see, she chose to stay with us, and you…you are going to die – not much hope of saving your dear sister now. But enough chatter – let's get this over with!"

Thomas tensed, every muscle burning slightly with the effort to stay still. Watching the man's mouth open, Thomas broke rank and sprinted across the clearing, leaping forwards and knocking Nessa to the ground, covering her with his own body.  
"Lie still," he hissed to her, flinching as he felt the searing heat of the curse barely pass above his back.

"You!" Thelonious bellowed, his eyes widening to give him a maniacal appearance. "I should have expected some pathetic attempt like this," he raged, turning his maddened gaze to Thomas. Suddenly he calmed. "No matter, I'll just kill both of you," he said smoothly, grinning cruelly.  
Tears beginning to fall again, Nessa looked over her shoulder up at Thomas. He smiled weakly and caught her lips in a gentle kiss.  
"I love you," he murmured simply, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against her cheek.  
"I love you too, Thom," Nessa replied, voice tight. Her breathing hitched unevenly as she began to sob quietly, and she closed her eyes, trying to focus only on Thomas.  
Wondering what was taking so long, she whimpered slightly, her eyes flying open, breathing rapidly, and awaited the end, knowing it would be soon. Darkness began to fill her vision, and she felt Thomas' arms tighten about her, his own tears mingling with hers.

Suddenly, Lessien's pale face appeared in front of her, the girl kneeling on the ground in front.  
"Remember me, sister," she whispered, touching Nessa's cheek lightly.  
Nessa's eyes widened slightly as Lessien straightened, just as the man cried, "_Avada kedavra!_"  
Lessien turned to stare at the man, her eyes fixed on his face as she stepped directly in front of the brilliant green light.  
Nessa shrieked as she watched Lessien's body stiffen and slowly crumple to the ground. She began to squirm frantically underneath Thomas, trying to free herself.  
"Not yet, Ness!" Thomas yelled over the startled commotion being made by the death eaters. "Lie still, love!"  
Nessa stared at Lessien's still body through the haze of tears, absently trying to clear her vision of the strange light filling her sight. Blinking, she frowned slightly, wondering what was happening. A misty golden light began to shroud Lessien's form, hiding her from sight, and a high, keening note began to fill the air.  
"Thom, I have to get to her, I have to!" she yelled, enough adrenaline racing through her for her to be able to free her hands from the rope.  
"It's too soon, they'll catch you again," Thomas argued, pinning her to the ground, although he was also staring at the strange golden light.  
"Something's not right – that light isn't right," Nessa insisted, tears of pain and anger trailing down her cheeks. "We have to get to her…"

Hearing an ominous rumbling from below her, Nessa stared at the ground as it began to shake violently, knocking the Death Eaters off their feet.  
"Now, Thom! We need to get to her now!"  
Giving up, Thomas carefully kept his arms wrapped about Nessa, and rolled with the shaking earth, landing them near Lessien. It was only as he let Nessa up and watched her kneel next to Lessien that he realised there was an area of still ground around the still girl, and he pointed it out to Nessa, asking, "What _is_ going on?"  
"I wish I knew," she answered loudly, looking back over to the Death Eaters, who were still struggling to stand up. "It's obviously because of Lessien, but why?" she mused, touching her sister's cheek tenderly.  
"We have to get out of here, while they're distracted," Thomas said quietly, reluctantly interrupting Nessa's thoughts.  
She nodded silently, her dark brown eyes almost black. Closing Lessien's eyes and rising to her feet, she looked at Thomas solemnly.  
"Let's go," she said softly, turning her gaze back to Lessien, clearly reluctant to leave.  
Watching Nessa, Thomas stooped and lifted Lessien, carrying the limp girl in his arms, before walking quickly for the edge of the clearing. Nessa trailed silently behind him, noticing a still path of ground form in front of the pair, while the ground behind them continued to shake.

"There're some thestrals nearby," Thomas called back to Nessa, leading the way swiftly through the trees, "they're always around here."  
Movement out of the corner of her eyes caught Nessa's attention, and she let out a small squeak at the creature emerging.  
"What in Merlin's name is that?" she whispered, edging backwards slightly.  
"Thestrals," Thomas replied shortly, gently laying Lessien across the back of the strange animal. "They pull the Hogwarts carriages."  
"Oh," Nessa replied faintly, still staring at the thestral, "I see… hang on, I haven't seen them before…"  
"Yes, well, you don't see them unless you've seen death," Thomas replied softly, pausing for a moment. Letting his words sink in for a moment, he wrapped his arms around Nessa's slim waist and lifted her onto the thestral as well, hopping up behind her.  
"Hogwarts Castle," he said towards the creature, and Nessa gasped as the thestral lurched up into the air. In very little time, they were out of the forest and flying toward Hogwarts, looming up in front of them.  
"Where should we go once we get there?" Nessa called over her shoulder to Thomas, hands cradling Lessien gently.  
"Obviously we need to see Professor Dumbledore," he replied, arms around Nessa, "but the Death Eaters will probably be looking for you, not to mention the fact that we can't exactly walk through the school with a-…" He cut himself off, cheeks flushing a strong red.  
"With a dead body," Nessa finished softly, eyes dropping down to gaze at Lessien, "I know." Tears trailing down her cheeks, she peered back at Thomas. "So what should we do?"  
"Do you know somewhere safe, somewhere you can hide with Lessien?" he asked, expression thoughtful.  
"I…I think so," she said uncertainly. "But I can't carry her all the way there…besides, someone will see."  
"I can turn her invisible for a short space of time, a trick I learnt at Beauxbatons, but you'll have to move quickly. Can you float her?"  
"I know a spell, yes, but I've never had to use it."  
Thomas reached up and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.  
"You'll be fine, love," he said gently. "Look, we're nearly there…"  
Nessa looked forwards again, and felt the usual awe at the enormity and majesty of Hogwarts Castle, this time and for the first time, tinged with sadness  
"I'm sorry you never got to attend it, Lessien," she murmured under her breath, holding her youngest sister close. "You'd have loved it."  
Noticing the ground rising swiftly up to meet them, she kept one arm firmly wrapped around Lessien and tangled the fingers of her other hand into the thestral's mane. Landing heavily, the jolt through the thestral nearly threw Nessa off its back, but she just managed to keep her balance.

Thomas jumped off and helped Nessa off, before lifting Lessien down and murmuring, "_Occaeco volutum._"  
Nessa blinked as Lessien disappeared from view, and she automatically reached for her wand to attempt her spell.  
"Thom, they broke my wand," she said, eyes widening as she remembered the leering face of Thelonious leaning over her and snapping her wand, throwing the pieces contemptuously out the window.  
"Shit," Thomas muttered, before handing her his wand. "Take it, I won't need it for this."  
Nessa took the offered wand, and turned away from Lessien and Thomas.  
"_Lumos,_" she murmured, and smiled faintly as the wand lit up brightly. Muttering the counter-charm, she faced Thomas again. "At least I can use it," she added, giving a half-smile.  
"Try your spell, Ness," Thomas said encouragingly, still cradling the invisible Lessien, and shifting slightly so that Nessa could grasp part of her sister's robe.  
"_Mobilicorpus,_" Nessa tried, waving the wand experimentally – nothing happened. "Well, it's not like I've ever tried this before," she muttered, before clearing her throat and trying again: "_Mobilicorpus_!"  
She saw Thomas jumped slightly as Lessien's weight was lifted from his arms but didn't say anything immediately, in case she lost concentration.  
Thomas nodded and smiled, reaching up to toy with something around his neck. Fumbling slightly, he soon lifted his hands away and stepped forward, gently putting his chain around Nessa's neck.  
"Hold onto this for the moment," he murmured, doing up the clasp. "Professor Dumbledore will probably be able to trace you with it."  
"Thank you for all your help, Thom," Nessa murmured softly, dark eyes meeting his pale ones.  
He smiled again and gently touched her shoulder. "Go," was his only reply. "I'll see you soon, _with_ Professor Dumbledore.  
Nessa nodded and, one hand grasping the hem of Lessien's robe, she cautiously made her way to the only place she could think of – Roman's secret hideout.

* * *


	13. Temper temper

_A/N: What do you mean, this took forever to write? Actually, it hasn't. Most of it was pumped out tonight, with the occasional sentence toyed with throughout the week. So that actual writing of it didn't take all that long. It was the inspiration that took eight months, oh yes indeed. Spurred on suddenly by the urge to write a Christmas story involving my favourite original characters - which I won't be uploading yet, because I don't want to _

**Disclaimer: The universe of Harry Potter isn't mine... which really sucks, but such is life. Nessa and Lessien are the creations of my own deluded mind, whereas Roman and Thomas are the creations of two other, yet equally deluded minds. So now you know.**

* * *

Nessa curled up in the darkest corner, cradling Lessien's invisible body in her lap, holding her close. Tears streamed down her cheeks again, and she let out a small sob, despite trying to stay silent. It wasn't fair – _life_ wasn't fair! What, in Merlin's name, had made her youngest sister decide to take on the force of the _Avada Kedavra_ curse instead of just letting it hit Thomas and herself?  
"I didn't even get to know you properly," she whispered hoarsely, a sob interrupting her words as she tried desperately to vocalise what she was feeling. She didn't even notice that the spell Thom had cast on the girl was beginning to wear off, the unmarked body starting to appear. 

Distracted by an unfamiliar sound, Nessa looked furtively around the room, her eyes focusing quickly on the entrance into the room as the handle seemed to shift of its own accord.  
'_They've found me!_' she thought immediately, her eyes frozen on the trapdoor-like entrance as it began to rise up out of the floor. Her heart pounding, she tried to slide back further, deeper into the shadows, only to find that the wall was already pressing firmly against her back. Whimpering slightly, she curled up as much as possible around Lessien and tried to melt into the wall, terrified that the Death Eaters had managed to track her down. Hopefully the room was too dark for the person climbing out of the trapdoor to see her – certainly, all she could see was a silhouette.

"Nessa, I know you're in here," came a voice, clearly from the new-comer, and Nessa frowned – despite the distorting effects of the room, that voice sounded awfully familiar. Not wanting to risk it, just in case she was wrong, she opted for staying silent and still, trying to breath as quietly as she could.  
"Look, Nehemiah told me you're in here, and he wouldn't lie to me… at least, not if he values what's left of him," the person grumbled and stepped further into the room, leaving the entrance open. Frowning slightly, Nessa listened carefully and her eyes widened as she heard the usual twitterings from the face-in-the-wall in the Charms classroom – she didn't know it even left that room! And that sort of threat…

"Roman?" she ventured quietly, praying that she was right and that she wouldn't be immediately blasted to pieces by an angry Death Eater. She watched as the figure swung immediately in her direction and made its way unerringly towards her, fear still swirling through her.  
"Pet, what's the matter? What took you so long to reply?" the voice, now so clearly Roman's, asked in concern, the Slytherin girl kneeling in front of Nessa.  
"I-… they-… The Death Eaters," Nessa forced out, her voice cracking as her emotions broke free once more. "They killed her, Rome!"

Silence filled the room as Roman tried to work out what Nessa meant. The Hufflepuff girl had gone to meet Lessien on Friday, and had got back to Hogwarts well after midnight… what had… Moving swiftly, she pulled her wand out of her robes and quickly lit the various candles about the room, her eyes taking in Nessa's messy appearance and tears streaming down her face, before she even noticed the petite girl that Nessa was cradling.  
"Holy Satanica," she muttered, not sure what to do. "Is that…?"  
"It's Lessien," Nessa whispered, gently rolling her sister's body so that her hair fell free and uncovered her face. "It was meant for me – they were going to kill me!"  
'_This is going to haunt her for life,_' Roman thought as she silently wrapped her arms about her friend and let the girl cry for as long as she needed to.  
"Why do you tell me everything, hey?" she suggested quietly, smoothing back Nessa's tangled hair and tilting her friend's face up to her. "Then we'll see what can be done…"

* * *

Dawn found the girls still in the secret spot, Nessa's head on Roman's shoulder, her face red and tear-stained.  
"What if they caught him?" she asked quietly for the numerous time, chewing at her lower lip.  
"Pet, as much as I don't want to admit it, the lad's got a smart head on his shoulders," Roman reassured Nessa, smoothing the girl's hair. "He won't have been caught."  
"Yes, but-…" Nessa began, and then cut off as a strange light began to fill the room. Cowering back against Roman, she watched it fearfully until the light suddenly burst into bright flames and a phoenix appeared.  
"Uh… friend of yours?" Roman inquired softly, tapping Nessa gently on the shoulder even though both girls were fixated on the magnificent creature.  
A soft, musical sound filled the room, and Nessa watched as the phoenix made its way over to her – the song was clearly coming from it. Stopping just in front of the two girls, it stood there, chortling away in its musical voice, examining them closely by tilting its head in almost every direction. Obviously satisfied, the bird let out one loud shrill note and disappeared, the high note still hovering in the air.  
"I guess it might have been Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's bird, but… well, they all look the same, don't they?" Nessa murmured quietly, staring as though enchanted at the spot the phoenix had been standing less than five seconds earlier before frowning lightly, reaching out to grab the envelope that had been left in Fawkes' place. She ripped it open and began to scan its contents, going back to the beginning and reading it out loud once she'd reached the end.  
"'_Nessa, I've found Dumbledore, and we've talked everything through. He's tried to find you through that chain I gave you, but something's blocking his magic._'" At that, Roman cast an innocent look at the ceiling, knowing all too well what was preventing Dumbledore tracing Nessa, but the petite Hufflepuff continued reading. "'_He's got this crazy notion (you know what he's like) that Fawkes will be able to find you where his magic failed, so here's to hoping. Anyways, the Professor wants to talk to you. Since we can't come to you, you'll have to come to us. If you can. Leave Lessien where she is, obviously she'll be fine, but meet me and Dumbledore in his office. He says you know where it is._'"  
"That's that, then," Roman said into the silence that had fallen once Nessa had finished reading. "Off you go. I'll stay here with Lessien."  
"I'm not sure I can," came to quiet reply, and with that simple sentence, Roman heard all of Nessa's pent-up fears and emotions as clearly as if the girl had told them to her.  
"Of course you can, pet," Rome told her, scooting forwards to put her arms about the girl once more. "You know precisely where you are, and precisely where you're going. It's all through the castle, you don't have to go outside once. There's no chance that anything will happen to you on the way." '_Nothing _else_ will happen to you,_' she amended in the safety of her own mind.  
Drawing a shuddering breath, Nessa slowly straightened in Roman's grasp, gently disentangling herself and rising to her feet.  
"You're right, I just have to go," she murmured quietly, although clearly she was still reluctant to leave the relative safety of Roman's hideout. "Will you stay here with Lessien?"  
"Wouldn't dream of being anywhere else," replied Roman sincerely, and watched as Nessa nodded slightly and let herself down the trapdoor, leaving the Slytherin to her own devices. 

Roman sat quietly for a moment, waiting until she was absolutely certain that Nessa was away from the hideout. Far away.  
"That's it," she muttered, dusting her hands unconsciously against her trousers and rising to her feet. "Alright Nehemiah, get your cheerful little arse out here _now!_" She was almost certain that the strange spirit was lingering about the place, and she wanted a word with him. Forcing herself to stand still, she allowed a full minute to elapse, and when no sign of Nehemiah's whitterings approached, she let out a soft growl of frustration.  
"You have ten seconds to show yourself, Nehemiah," she stated softly, her eyes starting to glint dangerously in the low light of the room. "Don't do yourself the disservice of waiting that long to find out what I'll do to you otherwise." She didn't notice the slight echoing of thunder in her words, nor the faint deepening of her voice, she was too focused on listening for Nehemiah's approach. Sure enough, she could hear the blasted thing coming, yet she kept her gaze firmly on the wall opposite her.

"You called for me, o Threatening One?" Nehemiah chortled as his face appeared on the floor, his seemingly permanent grin present.  
Drawing a deep breath to calm herself, Roman finally looked down at the face, only to watch in surprise as Nehemiah tried to recoil backwards, a feat made difficult by the fact that there was no 'backwards' for him.  
"Ah. Yes. I see what you mean," he babbled, voice rising briefly in pitch before lowing back to its usual androgenous timbre. "I'll get your father right away."  
Roman's jaw dropped open – how had he known? She pondered the thought for a moment, tapping her lip with a long fingernail that was slowly being tinted with black.

"It appears that Nehemiah was right for once," Lou said, his unmistakable voice sending ripples of power through the air surrounding Roman.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean, munchkin, that you appear to be coming into your powers earlier than you should be. That would be your mother's fault, I'm sure. Obviously, you can't help that you're female, and your mother's blood certainly wouldn't be helping with that, but-…"  
"Dad," Roman said simply, cutting off the flow of words from Lou and missing the similarity between her own voice and her father's at that moment. "Nessa's sister was killed tonight. I want you to bring her back."  
Lou stumbled into silence, and for a moment, nothing broke the stillness of the room apart from the faint drip of water in the background. "Munchkin, I understand that you want to help Nessa. I mean, she is quite close to your heart and all, but…"  
"But _what_, Dad?" Roman enquired and looked down at the face imprinted temporarily on the floor, her eyes blazing in barely contained fury. "It doesn't get much simpler than this. Lessien was a Death Eater. She's going to go to Hell for that, regardless of how she died. Hell is your domain, which means you can do whatever you want. You keep telling me to ask you if I want help with something, and this time I do. Bring her back."  
"Ah yes, well… about that, you appear to have a mistaken impression. I can't just do what I want, you see. There are rules that I have to follow. You have no idea what you're asking me here. Bringing Lessien back… it could rip the very fabric of life apart, munchkin. Come on, give me another one. Something easier to grant." His easy smile seemed slightly tense and forced, and Roman merely glared at him.  
"This isn't a game, Dad. I'm not asking you to bring someone back from the dead on a random flight of fancy. Nessa cared for Lessien, and it's going to scar her for life if she has to deal with the memory of her sister dying to save her. Bring her back," she articulated slowly.  
Lou spluttered incoherently, obviously trying to make his point understood by his daughter. "Sweetheart, it's tempting, and I understand why you want this done, but… I just can't," he admitted finally, his voice implying a shrug of defeat. Mentally, he crossed his fingers and hoped that the glowering girl above and in front of him would keep her temper.  
"Dad, please."  
"I've told you, I can't."  
"Daddy…"  
"No."  
"But-…"  
"I said, no."  
Roman struggled with herself for a moment, her dismay at her father's refusal warring with the anger the same refusal caused her. She never lost her temper, that wasn't her way. Now wasn't the time to start losing it.  
"Dad…"  
"I'm not listening, Roman."  
"Lou."  
No response.  
"_Satan_."  
A flicker of movement, almost a shiver, but again, no verbal reply. Roman clenched her teeth, biting down on the harsh words building in her throat.  
"If that's all, Roman De La Croix, I'll be off…"  
The world exploded about her.

In a distant part of her mind, Roman acknowledged the strange happenings, the fact that her shirt stretched, strained and finally tore apart at the seams, no longer fitting her. She felt her ever-present top hat, a gift from Lou, topple away from her head, her trousers growing tighter yet not splitting. She felt her own body changing shape, toning and losing all that made it so feminine. She acknowledged it all, yet at the same time, it seemed so unimportant. The hat did nothing but hide her true self – what use was it? And if a shirt no longer fitted, there was no point in keeping it. Her body changing shape was above and beyond her comprehension, and so he mind conveniently prevented her from questioning it. The fact that these changes were happening in a few seconds held no importance to her.  
The darkness surrounding her, instead of frightening her, did nothing but exude comfort and reassurance, providing something she had felt hinted at all her life but never experienced so fully before. The latent power that had lain still within her for sixteen years soared upwards and burst out of her, triggered and fuelled by her anger.

"You're not going anyway, Father," Roman grated, and the voice that resonated back to her sounded nothing like her. If anything, it resembled Lou's – its strength, power, the underlying echoes of thunder. Above all else, it was unequivocally male. Roman had achieved her birthright.

The Son of Satan had come into his powers, and he wasn't happy.

* * *


End file.
